Prank Wars
by musicgurlz
Summary: One innocent slap turns into the biggest prank war Hogwarts has ever seen. No one is safe, so what happens when things go a little too far? First fanfic!
1. Chapter 1

Summary: What starts out as an innocent slap, quickly turns into the biggest prank war Hogwarts has ever seen. No one is safe. So what happens when things go a little too far?

Introduction: This is Phoebe and Sadie! Listen, this is our first fanfic. We would really appreciate it if you guys could R&R because we want to know what you guys think about it. Criticism is welcome, but if you don't like the story, stop reading it. It doesn't do us any good if you keep sending negative reviews. Thanks muchly!

Disclaimer: We wish we did own Harry Potter, but we don't. We own all the characters you don't recognize though. That has to count for something. This goes for all chapters. Also, if this story, plot, events, anything follows or closely resembles any other story… IT IS NOT INTENTIONAL!


	2. Chapter 2

Lily walked down the corridors, hugging her loose books close to her chest. Her red hair was pulled back in a braid that swung about her back. Her emerald eyes searched for her next class, potions. It was her favorite class, mostly because it was the class in which she excelled in. She just turned the corner, when she heard her name being called. She turned around for a second while one of her best friends caught up with her.

"Hey Alice. Sup," Lily asked cheerfully. Alice smiled back at her. She had long brown hair and bright blue eyes. She, like Lily had extraordinary curves and a great smile.

"Not much," she said. "You?"

Lily sighed. "Marauder problems," she said. Alice nodded knowingly. Both Lily and Alice had trouble with two of the Marauders. Both of which never left them alone. Both girls had significant troubles avoiding them. They shrugged it off and continued to their class laughing at jokes the other one made. Once they reached the classroom, they took their seats at the front of the classroom and chatted until it was time to start the lesson. They carried on as the rest of the class filled in around them. Just then, Professor Slughorn entered the room. He cleared his throat, quieting the class. They looked up at him. He was short and very large around the middle. He had long grey hair and beady little eyes. He looked at Lily and Alice and smiled at them. They beamed back up at him. They took out their notebooks and quills, ready to take notes.

"Good morning class," he boomed. "Today, we will be working on a truth potion. Turn to page 297 in your books. I want a sample on my desk by the end of the day. For homework, I want a parchment on the use of this potion." He went to his desk and sat behind it, taking out his box of crystallized pineapples. Immediately Lily and Alice began to work. A little after they started, they both walked up to the professor's desk and placed a bottle of the potion on his desk. They beamed at him as he smiled.

"Right on time. Although, I did expect you to take just a little longer on this one. You can go back to your seats." Lily and Alice turned around and smiled at the class who had amazed looks on their faces. They went back to their seats and started on their homework. Lily was flying through it, as usual. Just before the end of class, they turned in their parchments, packed up and left. The class followed them out, grumbling about the amount of homework they still had. They walked down to the great hall for lunch, excited that they had finished all there work early. They sat down and had begun to chat, when someone dropped their books on the table and sat down across from them. They looked up and smiled at their third friend.

"Hey guys. Sup," she asked with a smile.

"Not much Nikki. You," Alice said. Nikki had short, curly, auburn hair. It always got in her face, so she tied it back loosely, but it had escaped and fell into her hazel eyes. She brushed it impatiently out of her face and retied it. Most guys said she had amazing curves and a fantastic smile, like her friends. The trio was undoubtedly the hottest girls in the school, but they were too into their school work to fool around.

"Arithmacy is hell today. Watch out," she said. Lily and Alice winced.

"Thanks for the heads up," Lily said. She always dreaded that class, but it was a class she had to take.

"Your welcome. So, what's up in potions," she asked.

"Truth potion, then a parchment on its use," Alice said.

"I guess I should get started on it then. This way I can turn in the potion and the parchment at the same time." She said with a smile and pulled out a piece of parchment and her quill. She started to write while her two best friends worked on their arithmacy skills. They were pretty good at it, but still had troubles. Every once in a while, they would ask Nikki a question, since arithmacy was her best class. Finally, they all packed up and headed their separate ways. Lily and Alice were going to Arithmacy, and Nikki was going the opposite way to Potions.

"See you guys in Transfurgation," Nikki called over her shoulder. Her friends waved at her and continued on to Arithmacy. Lily and Alice walked into the small classroom. Later after class, they were walking to Transfurgation. Lily could feel the familiar sense of foreboding she usually got while walking to Transfurgation. Once they entered the room they settled in the front row, quietly chatting with each other. Suddenly they were interrupted when someone sat next to them. They looked over and smiled at Nikki. The teacher entered the room and they all faced forward and paid close attention, taking frivolous notes on the lecture. Lily struggled to keep up, trying to be as detailed as possible. It annoyed her beyond all belief that people like the Marauders could sleep through the class and get an 'O' on their owls, when she took detailed notes and still get only an 'A'. This was her worst class, no matter how hard she tried. Once the class ended, they went to the library, they're usual spot, and checked out books and did their homework. Finally, they made their way up to the common room. They went over to the fire and settled down. Lily was resting in the lounge chair, her legs folded under her. Nikki and Alice settled themselves on either side of the couch. All three had begun to contentedly read. When they were interrupted by someone shouting.

"Hey Evans. Will you go out with me?"

"Get over yourself Potter," she replied without looking up. Just then, four boys walked over to the area. They were known around the school as the Marauders, notorious pranksters. They were all muscular, and the most popular boys in school. They were also known to some people as the biggest pricks in the school. One named James sat on the arm of Lily's chair. He had messy raven black hair, which showed off his handsome hazel eyes. He had had a crush on Lily since third year, and asked her out almost everyday. Lily turned him down every time. Now they were in their seventh year, and things hadn't changed much since then. He annoyed the hell out of her, but this was for reasons kept between the three girls.

"Why do you keep pestering me," Lily asked. "You already know the answer."

"I got a reputation to keep up," he said. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Not to mention, you're only the hottest girl in the whole damn school," said another marauder named Sirius. He had long black hair and dark brown eyes.

"Not the hottest girl," one of the boys said. His name was Frank (PETER DIED! YES! ). He had short brown hair and blue eyes. He had a fancy for Alice, yet, he didn't have the courage to ask her to go out with him. Alice rolled her eyes at them turning back to her book. Lily smiled to her self, wondering how Alice kept her composure for so long. This was another thing Lily had trouble with. She was notorious for her hot temper. Nikki remained immersed in her book, refusing to get involved.

The fourth marauder sighed. He shook his head of sandy hair and looked up at his friends. His light blue eyes looked tired and bored. His name was Remus. He was by far the most responsible of the four, yet still participated in the pranks. Lily didn't understand how a nice guy like him could get involved in something so immature.

"Can you go now? As you can see, I'm busy," Lily said to James.

James gave her his charming grin that would cause any girl to melt by his feet. Lily glared at him.

"That doesn't work on me. I don't know how many times it will take you to figure that out," she said. Lily stood and walked up to the dorms, refusing to let what was left of her composure slip. Alice followed shortly after. Nikki stayed right where she was and continued to read failing to notice the departure of her friends. Lily darted into her dorms, her temper rising. Alice closed the door behind them.

"Why does he keep doing that! It get's annoying as hell," she burst out.

"I don't know why he does it, but maybe he really likes you Lils," she said tentively.

"Alice! You're supposed to be on my side not his," Lily said.

"You just find it difficult to ignore him when he keeps asking you out," she said knowingly. Lily covered her face with her hands, trying to hide from one of the many truths, her best friend just pointed out.

"He makes it so difficult," she whimpered. Alice walked over and hugged her friend.

"C'mon, it's dinner time. Maybe some food will make you feel better," Alice said. Lily slid her hands down her face and smiled at Alice. She didn't know where she would be without her friends. They made her feel secure about everything. They both walked into the common room and came to a dead stop not believing what was just transpiring before them.

Back in the common room. (After Lily and Alice leave)

James sighed and dropped into the chair that Lily had just vacated. Then Frank and Sirius dropped on to the couch, making Nikki bounce slightly. Remus leaned up against the wall and folded his arms across his chest.

James looked into the fire. Sirius looked at his best friend.

"Why don't you give up on her? There are plenty of other girls in this school. Go screw with them."

"I can't Padfoot. She's different. No matter how hard I try to forget her, she just keeps popping up." James dropped his head into his hands.

Frank and Sirius looked at each other and grinned. "I hear that that Lydia girl is pretty good," Frank said.

"She is good," Sirius said. "She's got an awesome ass and her boobs are big and…"

"Ahhh," they heard Nikki exclaim as she put her hands over her ears. "I'm still here you know," she said glaring at them. They all looked at her as if they just noticed she was there. Sirius looked her up and down and grinned at her. He leaned over to her.

"So, what are you doing tonight," he said.

She smiled at him and let her hands drop back to her lap. "Nothing," she said seductively, noticing her friends behind them. They both had their hands clamped over their mouths in astonishment. Sirius came closer to her, reaching out his hand to her. He laid it on her thigh. She looked down at it and up at him. Her gaze hardened. She brought her hand up hard against the side of his face.

"Don't you ever touch me again," she got up and went over to her smiling friends. She gave them both high fives.

"You'd make a great player," Sirius said over his shoulder.

Nikki looked back at them with a smile. "Guess you're not the only one's who can do that," she said. Then the three left the room. Sirius brought his hand up and touched his raw cheek. Frank, James and Remus laughed.

"It's not funny! That really hurt," he whined.

"It was hilarious," Frank said laughing.

"She really sucked you into it," James said.

"You can see her handprint. Right there," Remus said, pointing to his cheek and making a circle, laughing harder and practically falling over.

"Yeah, I bet," Sirius grumbled. "We have to get back at her," he said.

"What are you going to do padfoot," Frank asked.

"I don't know yet," Sirius said. "Maybe something at dinner tonight. Let's go," he said jumping up. The rest followed him. They walked past the three girls who were talking and laughing. They sat not too far away from them. Sirius would glare at Nikki occasionally, which she promptly returned with a smile. Just then Sirius got an idea. He took out his wand and pointed it at Nikki, discreetly. He muttered something under his breath. A yellow light shot out of the tip, heading toward Nikki. Just before it got to her, she held up a golden platter. The spell bounced off it and hit Sirius. All of a sudden, Sirius' clothes turned into a short French maids dress. He had fishnet stockings and high black heels. Everybody started to laugh. He tried to walk towards Nikki, but was having difficulties walking with the high heels. He stopped in front of Nikki who was laughing hysterically. He glared down at her.

"Love the dress Sirius. Trying out a new fashion? The makeup compliments it well," she said holding the platter out for him. Sirius grabbed the golden platter she held out to him. He looked into it. His eyes had blue eye shadow and his lips were a bright red. His eyes widened. He handed the platter back to her.

"No one does this to me," he said menacingly.

She raised an eyebrow. "Touché," she said. Sirius stormed off, or at least tried to.

"It works better if you take the heels off," he heard Nikki say behind him. He just kept on walking ignoring her. When he got back to the common room he changed back. He sat down on the couch looking into the fire. All of a sudden, his thought was interrupted by a group of giggling girls. He looked over his shoulder and met the gazes of Lily, Alice and Nikki.

"You have naturally red lips Sirius," Lily asked. Sirius wiped his mouth with back of his hand glaring at Lily.

"I'll get you back Nikki. That's twice you've done something to me," he grumbled.

"You brought this on yourself. First you hit on me, and then you try to make me look like a French maid. I did nothing to you," she said. They went upstairs. Sirius turned back to the fire. Soon he was joined by his friends.

"She's right you know," Frank said.

"How did she do that though? I didn't even show my wand. She just knew," Sirius said amazed.

"She's not stupid you know," Remus said. "She knew you would pull something." Sirius glared up at Remus. Remus shrugged and laughed.

"I have to get her back you know," Sirius said.

"Why you just let it go. You've got that Becky girl coming over tonight," Frank said. Sirius sighed.

"She can wait. I have an idea. You three are going to help me though," he said looking at his best friends.

"Hell no," Remus said. "I'm not going to get involved. I like my clothes the way they are."

"Fine. Whatever. But you two will help me right?" James and Frank looked at him.

"What did you have in mind," they said in unison. Sirius smiled at them. They all bent their heads in and started planning.

Up in the dorm rooms, Lily and Alice were laughing. Lily knew that Nikki had guts, but she never thought that she would go up against a Marauder.

"You know Nikki. He'll want to get you back," Alice said.

"Yeah. What are you going to do," Lily asked.

"Wait," Nikki replied simply. "I didn't do anything to him. He did it to himself," she said indignantly.

"He's probably sucking his friends into doing it with him," Lily said. All three nodded at the inevitable truth. They all crept down the stairs to find three of the four boys with their heads together. Remus was sitting on the couch, reading a book.

"Can't think of what to do on your own Sirius," Alice called out. The boys looked at them and Sirius scowled at them.

"So, you've resorted to spying on us is that so," Sirius called back.

"We're not spying," Lily shouted back.

"So what are you doing," James yelled.

"Why are you guys yelling," Nikki called out to no one in particular.

"Oh, getting a headache," Sirius asked, mimicking a sad face.

"Actually yes," Nikki said wincing and rubbing her temples. "What do guys plan on doing to me," she asked.

"Like we're going to tell you," Sirius snorted. "You're even dumber than I thought."

"I didn't get hit with my own spell," Nikki retorted smiling at him.

Sirius' face fell.

"She got you," Frank said under his breath.

"Shut it," Sirius said. "So, what is your plan? Going to embarrass me in front of the whole school again?"

"Actually, I plan to do nothing to you," Nikki said simply.

"Don't give me that," Sirius said. "C'mon. Are going to string up my underwear or something?"

Nikki made a disgusted face. "Like I'd be caught dead near those things! Besides, I'm not that tacky."

"So what's it going to be," James asked.

"I already told you. I'm not going to do anything. I wouldn't waste my time trying to figure out the best way to outdo the Marauders," she said.

The boys all laughed. "So we're too good for you to even try," Sirius said triumphantly.

Nikki yawned. "No, just not worth my time," she simply said. "Night," she said, smiling at their fallen faces. She walked up the stairs, her friends followed her.

"That's it. We going to do something really good," Sirius said.

"Did it ever occur to you guys that she may not even do anything to you," Remus interjected, looking up from his book.

"No decent person would do something like that," Sirius snapped. "She's planning something," he exclaimed.

Remus rolled his eyes and went up to bed.

* * *

So… what do you think? Reviews are welcomed and greatly appreciated!

Love,

Phoebe and Sadie


	3. Chapter 3

This is another chapter for you guys! Thanks to all those who reviewed!

Phoebe- the only reason we are ignoring Peter is because we plan to have Lily and James live in the end.

Sadie- Plus it's so much more fun to manipulate Frank and Alice because nobody knows much about them.

* * *

Everyone was seated at breakfast. Lily sat and chatted with her friends about their school work. She was asked her friends all sorts of questions about Transfurgation. Unfortunately, they didn't know the answers either. The marauders were sitting not too far away, and were occasionally looking up and smiling at the girls. Lily and Alice were sitting on one side of the table and Nikki was facing them. Lily kept getting a bad feeling every time she made eye contact with the four. She didn't feel safe sitting here anymore. 

"Stop encouraging them," she heard Nikki hiss.

Lily looked at Nikki who had her eyes narrowed at not only her, but Alice too.

"I'm not!" Lily said.

"Yes you are. You keep looking at them. They can tell you're spooked," she hissed back. Lily turnedslightly pink, knowing that her friend was right.

"Well, I'm sorry, but one of best friends is going to be pranked by the marauders. I've seen what they do to other people, and it's not very pretty. I'm just worried," Lily said looking at a very calm Nikki.

To Lily's surprise, Nikki winked. Lily weakly smiled at her.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. Besides, what can they do to me, that I can't do back to them ten times worse?" she said with a smile. For some reason, Lily's worry didn't go away with that fact. Nikki picked up on it.

"If you guys are so worried, then you go ahead, and I'll catch up with you in the dorms. Ok?" she asked. Lily still felt uncertain about the whole idea, but gave her head a slight nod. She didn't feel right leaving her friend behind with the Marauders greedy for revenge. Both Lily and Alice stood and gave Nikki a hug, just then, they all were knocked to the ground. Lily was momentarily knocked out, but when she came too, she felt extremely weird. She slowly opened her eyes and noticedthe marauders were standing not too far away.

"Shit!" Frank and James said in unison. Nikki stood and brushed herself off. She turned to her friends and her eyes grew wide.

"How come it never hits her?" Sirius said in frustration, stomping his foot on the ground.

"What happened?" Lily asked groggily.

"Yeah, I feel funny," Alice said. Nikki clamped her hand over her mouth and the whole hall fell silent.

"What?" Lily asked getting worried. Nikki blindly took a mirror out of her bag and handed it to Lily. She gasped and Alice grabbed the mirror from Lily.Both theirskin and clothes had turned a dark blue.The worst of it was the fact that their hair had turned blue as well. Lily jumped up immediatelyand advanced on the boys, her expression matching her rising temper.

"BLACK, POTTER AND LONGBOTTEM! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! AND IF YOU THINK I'M GOING TO GO OUT WITH YOU AFTER THIS POTTER, IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN. LOOK AT MY HAIR!" she shrieked, holding out a strand of hair, and looking close to tears.Alice was not too far behind her. But instead of yelling at them, Alice just went up and slapped Frank across the face, leaving a bright red handprint on his cheek. They both ran out of the hall and went up to the common room. Where they closed and locked the door behind them.Then ran to the bathroom and tried frantically to get the color off of them. Finally, they sat on their beds and looked at each other.

"Any luck?" asked a down-trodden Lily. Alice sadly shook her head. "Me neither." Just then, they heard someone try to get into the dorms.

"Guys? I did it!C'mon. Let me in!" they heard Nikki say through the door. Lily got up and opened the door. Nikki looked at her and Alice, and then walked in.

"We have tried to get this stuff out, but it won't work," Alice said.

"Here, let me try!" Nikki said bringing Lily over to her bed. Lily sat down, and Nikki stood behind her, trying to get the blue off of her. It took her a while but soon she was able to get most of it off. After Lily and Alice changed their clothes, and fixed their hair and makeup they looked decent. Lily plopped on the bed beside Nikki.

"That's it," Lily said. "I want in too."

"Same here!" Alice replied.

"This is between me and Sirius," Nikki said.

"Well now it's girls vs. boys. Besides, they have three people, and you're only one. Now it's a fair fight," Lily said.

"Well there's no point in fighting you, so welcome to the team!" Nikki replied giving in.

Back in the Great Hall (Just after Lily and Alice left)

Nikki turned around to face them. Her eyes narrowed at all of them and they all shrank away, including Remus. None of them had ever seen her wrath, but if she was anything like her friends, the four didn't want to see it.

"You better watch your backs. This just got elevated to a whole new level," she said in a deadly voice. She turned and walked out of the hall. Herhair coming loose from her ponytail. Siruis started slowly backing awayasJames and Frank rounded on Sirius.

"Hey, you guys wanted in on it!" he said shrugging.

"Yeah, but now, they won't even give us a chancem," James said running his hand through his hair. He head out the Great Hall doors with the rest following him.

"What are we going to do now?" Frank asked as they passed a bunch of running, screaming first years.

"Start planning," Sirius said simply.

"Are you nuts Padfoot! Didn't you see what just happened here?" Frank asked incredulously subconsciously rubbing his now red cheek.

"Of course I did! I'm not blind you know. Do you really think that after this, they won't be planning to get us back? We have to strike before they do!" Sirius said. James and Frank just stared at him dumbfounded.

"Wow, you have cracked," James said. "And did you have to hit Lily? Pumpkin juice." James announced as they came to the picture of the Fat Lady.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault. She pulled her into it. Blame Nikki," Sirius replied as the four of them entered to common room.

"I told you to wait until she was alone, but you didn't listen. I actually thought I would have a chance with her, but not anymore!"James saidheading tothe window.

"You never had a chance with her Prongs," Frank said.

"Yeah, and what makes you think you had a chance with Alice?" James said indignantly.

"Come on; stop fighting like an old married couple. You both are losers, so stop trying to outdo each other. Let's go," Sirius said, pulling them up. "You too!" he said pulling Remus up with him, leading them to the fire.

"No way man. I'm not getting caught up in this," he said.

"Oh yes you are. If we have to, then you do too!" Frank said.

"No I'm not. Not now. You have no idea what these girls are capable of!" he said shivering at the thought. "Besides, I want to keep all the chances I have."

"C'mon Moony. What's the worst they could do?" Sirius said.

"I don't even want to think about it. Don't underestimate them you guys," he said backing away.

"Their just girls Moony. Besides, we need your brains on this thing. You'll have fun once you get into it. Trust me," Sirius said, giving Remus the puppy- dog eyes. Remus rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Fine. What did you have in mind?" he sighed.They went over to their usual corner. Before they sat down to plan, the girls came down the stairs. Lily's hair still had a slight blue tint and she had it pulled back into a messy bum. Alice's hair was a very dark blue still and she hadit put up into a ponytail to keep it from going into her eyes.They didn't notice the four in the corner.

"Trying out a new look Evans? Looking good," Sirius said. All three gave him death glares.

"What the hell did you do to us! It's taken us an hour to get just this much off!" Lily said, glaring at James and the other boys. James just looked at Lily feeling guilty.

"Well, since it was three spells at once, it will take a little while. It wasn't supposed to hit you two though. Your friend here pulled you into the line of fire," Sirius replied.

"Oh, did I hurt the little puppies pride when I slapped him the other night," Nikki said, mimicking a sad face. "Can't even pull off a decent prank without the help of his friends," she said menacingly. "Well guess what, now you've got us to deal with!" she said.

"And you're making fun of me because I brought my friends into this?" Sirius said with a smirk.

Lily and Alice stepped up. "We came in on our own. You recruited those two fools into this. You honestly think we're going to let you three get away with this!" Lily said.

"Now instead of just Nikki, you have to worry about us too!" Alice continued.

"Well, we've evened the playing field," Sirius said with a smile. "Remus has just joined my team; you know he's the smart one here." The three girls looked over Sirius' shoulder at Remus. Remus looked away.

"Evidently so," Lily said. Sirius, James and Frank didn't get it and stared blankly at her. All three girls just shook their heads.

"Well, I apologize ahead of time Remus. But honestly, I expected you not to be involved," Nikki said. Remus looked up at her sadly.

"Why on earth would you expect that of him?" Sirius blurted out.

"Because," Nikki said looking back to Sirius. "He knows exactly what we're capable of. I would have thought that he was smarter than that," she said. With that, the three returned back to the dorms.

"What exactly are we up against Remus?" Sirius asked, looking back at Remus.

"Oh I don't know, just the three smartest girls in the whole entire school," he said looking down at the floor, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, and slamming his other hand in his pocket. "Not to mention, they're hot and can probably distract us easily," Remus said sarcastically.

"Shit!" James said.

"Sirius, what have you gotten us into," Frank moaned.

"They can't be that smart! I mean, they're just a bunch of girls. We're the best pranksters ever. What harm could they possibly do to us?" Sirius said.

"I told you. Don't underestimate them. They're smart," Remus said.

"But we've got you! What could they possibly think up that you can't?" Sirius said exasperatedly.

"True, but I'm just one person. They've got three!" he replied.

"He's got a point," Frank said.

"He's just shaken up because Nikki said something to him and he likes her. He just doesn't want to prank her. C'mon Moony. She started this whole thing!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Oh really?" they heard Nikki say from behind Sirius. The four boys looked wide-eyed at her. Sirius gave her a smallsmile. Lily and Alice stood on either side of Nikki.

"How… long have you been standing there?" Remus asked.

"Long enough," Lily answered.

"If I remember correctly, you made the first move," Nikki said.

"Yeah, I hit on you, but you still started it!" Sirius said.

"No, I rejected it. You obviously can't handle rejection," Nikki replied. "So, when you tried to throw that spell at me during lunch, _you_ actually started it," Nikki continued.

"Yeah whatever," he said turning back to his friends. "Shall we continue?" The three looked blankly at him. All of a sudden, a group of giggling girls came through the painting. They all stood stark still, staring at the boys. The four boysstared blankly at them. All of a sudden, all the girlrushed foreword, screaming.Remus jumped off the couch and ran over to the window soon followed by the other two boys. The group of screaming girls ran past them and up to the boy's dorms.They looked bewilderedly at the door to the dorms and then looked back at the three girls.Nikki hadher arms crossed overher chest and asmug smile onher face.

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Sirius said.

"What?" Alice asked.

"That, that stampede, and why are they in our dorms!" Sirius continued.

Nikki turned to Lily and Alice. "Did you see anything weird?" she asked.

"Nope."

"Nothing."

Nikki turned back to the boys. "I don't know about you, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary," she said.

"Of course you didn't," James said sarcastically.

"Oh, I guess you haven't been outside of the dorms yet. Guess you were too busy plotting against us to notice," Lily said.

"See what?" Frank asked.

"They're all over the school Lily. I can't see why they wouldn't have seen it," Alice said to her two friends.

"See what?" Remus asked uncertainly.

"Let's not spoil the surprise. See you around guys!" Nikki said. She went out of the portrait hole followed by Lily and Alice, laughing about something the boys obviously didn't know. The four cautiously climbed out of the hole. Sirius jumped out pretending to hold a fake gun. When he noticed thaton the wall directly across from them was a bright pink notice. They walked over to it and read it. All thier mouthsdropped and they're eyes widened.

BIG DEAL!

Free tour of the Marauders dorms. All items up for grabs!

Get free signature from them throughout the day!

Hurry before this offer runs out!

The four looked both ways up the halls. All they could see was pink notices plastered to the walls all the way up.

"I'm going to kill them!" Sirius said. The four ran into their dorms and fended off girls from their possessions. They threw dozens of girls from the dorm, trying to figure out what was missing. Finally, they laid down on their beds.

"I couldn't possibly get worse. I think we're safe," James said.

"I can't believe them! It's going to take days to get all the notices. I'm still missing stuff!" Sirius said.

"We have to get them back," Frank replied.

"After dinner," Sirius said grumpily. They all grunted in agreement. Heading toward the Great Hall, they got a dozen girls coming up with articles of clothing and asking for signatures. When they finally got into the hall, they all sat down at they're usual spot. They could see the three girls smiling at them.The boys gave them death glares back. Then Sirius got an idea and pointed his wand at them.The smiles left they're faces and were replaced with semi-fear.

"What are you going to do?" Nikki said smugly.

"What does it look like I'm going to do? Talk about hitting below the belt," he said.

"Oh, the poor puppy and friends are a little mad. Surrender!" Lily exclaimed.

"Never. I can get you back with this," Just then, the four stood and pointed they're wands at the girls.

"Reductamortis!" they all said. All of a sudden, a neon orange cloud formed and filled the Great Hall. When the dust settled, they four still had they're wands pointed at the girl, and everything was colored neon orange. Nikki wiped the table with her finger, but the neon color didn't come off.

"Nice job guys!" Lily said.

"That wasn't supposed to happen," Sirius said, his wand still pointed at them. No one had moved, whenall of a sudden, the doors opened and Professor McGonagall walked through. She gasped and looked at the four boys who had their wands pointed at Nikki, Alice and Lily.

"BLACK, POTTER, LONGBOTTEM AND LUPIN! What happened here? Put those wands down!" The four lowered their wands at once and tried to explain. "Stop talking! Come with me right now!" The four looked down at their feet and followed her out of the hall. The three girls smiled at each other and exchanged high fives under the table. They all walked up to their dorms, and washed the orange off. They settled in front of the fire and pulled out their books. Later, the four boys came in.

"So, how was your visit with McGonagall?" Lily asked without looking up.

"Oh shut up!" Sirius grumbled. James and Sirius slumped into the unoccupied seats, while Frank and Remus fell into the other end of the couch Nikki was on. They're combined weight made her bounce. As a result, her book fell to the ground.

"Hey!" she said.

"Sorry,"both Frank and Remus grumbled.

"So, what happened?"Alice asked innocently.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"Sirius said.

"Actually, we would. As you can see, we're very concerned with you're wellbeing,"Alice said.

"Right," Sirius replied, rubbing his eyes. "Well, since you're so concerned with our well being, we got a months worth of detention, and had to clean the entire hall without magic," Sirius said.

"Oh," Lily said, trying not to laugh.

"You switched our wands with fake ones didn't you?" James asked.

"It was actually quite funny. You guys fell right into it too," Lily said laughing.

"And you thought it couldn't get worse." Alice said also laughing.

"Very funny," James said. Then he noticed that Nikki had remained immersed in her book. "So, Nikki, what are you reading that's so important that you can't laugh at us?" he asked.

"If you want me to laugh at you, then I will, but I would have thought you would want to at least keep some dignity," she replied without looking up. James' face went red as he realized the stupidity of his question. This made Alice and Lily laugh harder. After a few minutes Lily and Alice yawned. Lily pushed herself off the couch and pulled Alice up.

"We're going to bed. Are you coming Nikki?" Lily asked.

"You go on ahead. I'll be up a little later," she replied. Lily shrugged and went up to the dorms with Alice.

"You really think it's safe to stay with us without your friends?" Sirius asked menacingly.

"You don't scare me. And I am very capable of taking care of myself," she replied.

"I would be scared if I were you. Going up against the Marauders in a pranking war you'll lose," he said.

She looked up at him. "Good thing you're not me," she said. Then she returned to her book. Sirius grunted in annoyance.

"I'm going up to bed," he announced. He walked up to the dorms with James and Frank following, mummbling as he went. Remus stayed where he was and watched Nikki. Nikki feeling someone watching her looked up from her book.

"What?"

"Why didn't you laugh at us?"

She sighed. "Because, I don't think it's funny when other people get suckered into things like this. This fight is between me and Sirius. Nobody else should have been involved. I didn't even plan on doing anything to him," she finished. "I really am sorry that _you_ got into this." she said. Then she got up and went to bed. Remus went up afterwards.

* * *

Hey were back! 

Please review and let us know what you think! We also have another story between Nikki and Remus that we hope to have posted soon!

Next Chapter: There will be more Lily and James! Promise!

Phoebe and Sadie


	4. Chapter 4

Heres another Chapter!

Phoebe- Sorry it took a little while but my dad shut down my internet for a few days and Sadie can't log on fanfictionwith her laptop...so I get in charge of updating.

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Chapter 3

The next day brought uncertainty to both parties. They had all become paranoid about everything, waiting for the next prank. The boys had spent many restless nights plotting their next prank. The girls however, had decided to take a break from the planning, and focus on their school work. The boys simply didn't understand how they could be so calm when they, themselves were still scared from the last prank they did. The four had tried relentlessly to prank them, but it always kept backfiring. Sirius always paced, trying to think about the situation.

"How is it that she never gets hit," Sirius yelled one morning, referring to Nikki who had yet to be hit by any of the pranks. "Everything I do, she's always in the perfect position, and it never hits her," he said pacing around the room.

"Oh, are you getting slightly frustrated Sirius?" he heard Lily say behind him. Sirius whirled around to face her.

"Where's your posse? I would have thought you would stay with them."

"No need. I'm not really afraid of you or your friends. Besides, I can take care of myself," she said with a smile. With that, she headed out the door. Sirius started to pace again. He stopped in mid-step as a thought struck him. He ran to the stairs going up to the girls dorms. He said a quick spell under his breath and ran up them. He cautiously entered the dorms, closing the door behind him, smiling to himself. He would definitely find something here. He walked further into the room, trying to figure out which bed was Nikki's. Suddenly, something caught his. He walked over to one of the beds. On top of it was an emerald book. He picked it up and flipped it open. A blur of handwriting whirled past him. Finally, he stopped at the last page and read silently to himself.

_Thursday 11/13/88_

_Dear Diary,_

_Today was funny. We so beat the Marauders at their own game. They got a months worth of detentions. Alice and I thought it was so funny. Nikki was happy, though I think she was sorry that Remus had gotten in trouble. Oh well, that's what he gets for hanging around those three. Classes were so boring. Sometimes I hate sitting in the front because when I get bored, I can't look back at him without anyone noticing. He's so hot! I wish I didn't have to keep up this act all the time. It's gets so hard and depressing to pretend all the time, but I just don't want to be like the rest. Nikki and Alice are good friends. They help me through it. That's because they are going through the same thing, but with different people. It's funny how Nikki never plans her pranks. I don't think her heart's in it anymore. Oh well. Time for bed._

_Lily_

Sirius' mouth dropped. He had to find out who their crushes were! This would be perfect. He began to flip through it again, this time stopping near the beginning. Again, he began to silently read.

_Tuesday 9/29/88_

_Dear Diary,_

_I can't take it anymore! I'm so in love with him it's crazy! Why can't I be different from all those other bimbos! Alice and Nikki help, but I can't keep him from my mind. It's so annoying. Sometimes, I wish I would just go out with him and get it over with, but I can't. It would just give him the satisfaction. I don't want to be this weeks whore. I just have to keep my eyes to myself and ignore him. How hard could that be when I already do it? Who am I kidding? I can't ignore him! He's… everywhere! Now I feel better. I guess I just had to write it down. Thanks for being there!_

_Lily_

Sirius shook his head.

"No. It can't be," he said to himself. He flipped through the book again. He had to find that page! Again he stopped and began to read once more.

_Friday 8/7/88_

_Dear Diary,_

_I can't believe myself. Why is this feeling coming on now! I never felt it before! I can't believe it. I may actually like James Potter! I actually think I'm considering going out with him. No I can't. I just have to pretend that he's not there. But he's so hot and his hazel eyes… No! Just forget that messy black hair. Just forget about him Lily. But I can't. He's everywhere. In every room I go in, I can smell him. Crushed sage. Every time I smell it, it reminds me of him. I just can't get his picture out of my mind! I have to talk to Nikki and Alice. They'll know what I'm going through. Or at least Alice will. She's got a major crush on Frank, but tries to hide it, like I should do. I'll get some tips from her. I'm not sure about Nikki though. Oh well. I've got to go._

_Lily_

Bingo! Sirius smiled to himself.

"So, the red heads in love with James, and Alice is in love with Frank. This is good, but what about Nikki," he said thoughtfully. "Who cares about her? I'm going to do wonders with this," he said, running from the room with the diary. He sprinted up to the boy's dormitory and started to pour over the little book. He had been reading the book for less than five minutes before scratching his head.

"Girls are confusing. What the bloody hell is wrong with my eating habits? I eat just fine! Yes, sometimes some of it gets on them, but… I'm eating, so who cares," he said. He shook his head and closed the book. He put it in his trunk and laid on the bed thinking. Just then he shot up and gathered his wand and the book. He pointed his wand and started to say spells. Suddenly, stacks of paper started to stack up all around the room. He finally stopped and ran from the room, the stacks hovering behind him. He walked out into the halls and started to plaster them to the walls. Crowds started to gather around them. Sirius smiled to himself as he continued down the halls.

Lily, Alice and Nikki were walking back from the library with their books in their arms. They were trying to get around a rather large crowd which was blocking the entire hallway.

"What the bloody hell is everyone looking at?" Lily yelled. Suddenly seeing her, they parted. The three looked down the path they had made. At the very end of the path were three of the four Marauders. Posted to the wall was a white sheet of paper with handwriting on it. They made their way to it and started to read. They all gasped.

"Can you forget about his hotness now Evans?" someone shouted out. The crowd with the exception of the three boys laughed. Lily ripped the paper from the wall and ran to the common room. Nikki and Alice looked at each other flabbergasted and started to chase their friend, with the three boys following them. Once they reached the common room, they tried to get into the dorm, but she had locked it. Alice and Nikki sighed.

"This is all my fault," Nikki moaned. "You try to get her out while I'm going to take care of those posters." Alice nodded, and Nikki ran out of the common room. She ran throughout the school, getting all the posters she saw. She trudged back to the common room, dead tired from running. She slowly went up the stairs to their dorms and got a sad nod from Alice. Nikki knocked on the door.

"Lily? I just wanted to tell you that I'm so sorry I got you into this," she said sadly. Upon hearing no response, she went back down into the common room and slumped into a chair. She felt sick to her stomach, and instead went over to the window and stared out it, not noticing the three boys watching her. They went over to her.

"She's not coming out is she?" James asked quietly. Nikki looked at them.

"Where's Sirius?" she asked.

"Right here baby," they heard behind them. Sirius strolled into the common room with a wide smile on his face. Nikki jumped up and pushed though the boys. She marched over to Sirius with the deadliest look he had ever seen. His smile lessened a little bit, but it still remained.

"Look, I know we did it to you and this is payback, but from now on, this is between you and me. No one else. Got it," she said menacingly.

"My friends will stick with me. Keep your friends out of it if you want," he said smiling down at her.

"You do anything to them, and I swear I'll kill you myself. Do you understand?" she said.

"I'll do anything I want. You don't command me," he said. She turned around and headed back to the window. "Looks like I win," he said laughing. Nikki whirled around and pointed her wand at him. She didn't have to say anything when Sirius felt funny. His smile fell off his face and he rushed to the dorm room. Nikki continued to the window and sat in it, just as she did it before.

James watched Nikki as she looked out the window. Suddenly he got an idea and ran to his dorm room as fast as he could. He noticed that Sirius's bed hangings were closed. He was muttering about Nikki and dancing elephants. Suddenly a small bright pink elephant came from the hangings around Sirius's bed; followed by many more that were singing and dancing.

"Go away you stupid elephants! Stop following me!" He heard Sirius scream. James just shook his head and grabbed his broom.

"I hope this works," James said, as he opened the window and sat on his broom. He flew out carefully so he didn't fall off getting out the window and flew around to the girl's dorm window. He looked in and saw a pile of red hair lying on one of the beds. At first he softly knocked on the window. When she didn't look up he knocked on the window harder. Finally he saw her look up and towards the window. Lily walked over slowly to the window her eyes were all red and puffy from crying.

"What do you want? To come tease me?" Lily asked as she opened up the window. She blocked the window so there was no room for James to fly in.

"Lily can we talk?" James asked hopefully.

"No," Lily replied and was about to shut the window.

James reached out and grabbed the window before she got a chance to shut it. Lily looked up at James and he noticed the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"Please just hear me out? I'm not here to make fun of you or anything. I promise," James pleaded. Lily said nothing for a minute then moved slowly out of the way. James skillfully flew into the window and jumped off his broom.

Lily walked over and sat on her bed. Soon followed by James. She looked away from him not meeting his eyes.

"Lily, I know you like me and I also know you think I'm just using you. I just wanted you to know I'm not. I really like you and if I was just using you then I wouldn't have asked you out for four years in a row. A few years ago I was prick and I know that but you were the one who showed me what I was. I would never hurt you, well intentionally anyway," he explained. He took Lily's face in his hands and made her face him, also lifting her into a standing position. He lifted her chin and she lifted her eyes. She stared straight into those hazel pools. The comfort she felt flowing from them felt genuine. She knew then that this was the only place she wanted to be, right here with James. He slowly bent his head toward her, his eyes never leaving hers. His head stopped just inches above hers and she could feel his soft breath on her lips. She squeezed her eyes shut against the feelings of attraction which had suddenly rushed in on her whole body. She didn't move an inch.

"Don't you dare get sucked into this Lily Evans. You're only going to get hurt," a voice screamed in her head. She felt his lips softly brush hers. Her heart beat quickened and a chill ran through every limb in her body. Then she felt James come fully on to her and started to kiss her. Passion overtook her and blocked out the screaming voice as she kissed him back. His tongue expertly explored her mouth as his hands gently ran all over her body. He pulled her in closer to him, letting her run her hands through his hair.

"Damn he's good," she heard the little voice that was previously screaming at her say. Finally, they broke apart. Lily rested her forehead on his chest and tried to catch her breath. He rested his chin on her head. She could feel his heart thumping against his chest. It was almost beating as fast as hers.

"I can't believe you," he heard her say. He looked down at with a confused look. She looked back up at him with tears in his eyes, slightly pushing him away from her.

"What!"

"You took advantage of me! Am I to be this week's whore?" she asked, a tear rolling down her check.

He screwed up his face. "I would never do that to you! You think I would spend four years asking you out everyday just so I could have you for a week! Didn't we already go over this?"

She looked up at him.

"Why did you turn me down all those times when you really had feelings for me the whole time?" he asked with a pang of hurt in his voice. Lily cringed at hearing it.

"I… I was afraid. I didn't want to be used by you and made out to be easy," she said looking down at her feet. James took her chin in his hand and lifted it. Her eyes looked sadly up at him.

"I won't hurt you, at least not intentionally. You have to trust me on this one," he said softly. Lily squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. The voice was screaming again.

"I…I…" she started, but couldn't think of what to say. James looked at her, searching her face for some clue of what was going on in her head.

"You what?"

"I…" she said yet again, a tear rolling down her cheek. James took her face in his hands, and with his thumb, he wiped her cheek dry.

"Do you trust me?" he asked quietly. She looked up at him, meeting his warm hazel eyes. He could see that she did, but there was hesitation.

"I…" she replied. He pulled her into a hug, pressing her to him. Lily started to cry again.

"I… don't know why I'm acting like this," she said.

"I do," James replied softly. She looked up at him.

"You do?"

"You want to trust me, but because of my past, you're afraid that you'll be like the rest. Am I right?" Lily nodded her head. "I promise you, it won't be like that. I swear to it," he said. She nodded her head again. The little voice finally stopped screaming at her. James smiled at her and pressed her to him again. Lily couldn't help but feel safe in his arms. She instantly relaxed, leaning into him. James felt her sudden relaxation and smiled to himself. He held her there until she finally pulled back and looked up at him. He smiled down at her and she returned it. All of a sudden, they heard Nikki scream. Lily ran to the door, but James caught her by the wrist.

"Nikki…" she breathed out.

"I'm sure it was just Sirius pranking her. It sounded like it hit her this time," he said laughing.

"But what if she's in trouble," Lily said, worry written on her face.

"In Hogwarts? In the Gryffindor common room? Not likely," he said. Lily relaxed.

"You're probably right," she said smiling at him. "Can we check just in case?" James thought about it for a moment and then nodded his head. They cautiously went down the stairs. Lily looked toward the fire and saw one of the lounge chairs drenched. James directed her attention to a few books on the ground by the painting. Also going toward the painting was a trail of water. James smiled at Lily.

"Yup, they're at it again. C'mon, let's go out by the lake for a bit, and then we'll go do our rounds together. What do you say?" Lily smiled and nodded her head. They went out of the painting, not noticing that they hadn't seen Nikki, Sirius, Frank or Alice.

_Back in the common room (While James was with Lily)_

Nikki and Alice had tried numerous times to get Lily to open up the door, but they didn't succeed. They settled themselves near the fire. Nikki curled up in a chair, and Alice lay on the couch.

"Do you think they'll try anything on us tonight? You know, because we're out in the open?" Alice asked Nikki. Nikki looked at her.

"Probably, but we'll get them back," she replied, looking back into the fire.

"How are we going to get Lily back out here?"

"I don't know yet. She's not going to open tonight. That's for sure. I can't believe he did that though. I mean talk about low," Nikki replied without looking at Alice. Alice nodded in agreement, lying down.

"There's always tomorrow," she said. She saw Nikki nod her head. "Night," she said closing her eyes.

"Night," Nikki replied quietly. Nikki watched the fire a little while longer, until she finally drifted off to sleep, her head resting lightly on the arm of the chair.

Sirius and Frank walked through the portrait, quietly talking.

"Where's Moony and Padfoot?" Frank asked looking around.

"I don't know, but who cares," he heard Sirius reply.

"What!" Frank looked at Sirius and saw that he was in a trance. "What are you looking at?" When Sirius didn't answer, Frank put his face close to his, trying to figure out what exactly he was looking. When he couldn't see it, he pulled back and scratched his head.

"What are you looking at?" he asked again.

"Look," Sirius said pointing toward the seating area.

"I have been looking!"

Sirius grabbed his arm and led him over to the seating area. He saw comprehension wash over Frank's face, as a smile spread on it. They saw Nikki curled up in a lounge chair, sleeping peacefully. Sirius grinned and looked at Frank raising an eyebrow. Both boys went over to the stairs. They went up slightly, making sure that they could still see Nikki. Sirius pulled out his wand, and pointed it at her. He mumbled an incantation and both boys ran up to their dorms. They waited for a few seconds, in total silence, waiting. Suddenly, they heard it.

"AHHHH! SIRIUS BLACK! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" they heard Nikki scream.

Sirius' face lit up as he grinned.

"It actually hit her! Finally! I'm not such a loser after all!" He began to dance around the room, waving his arms and singing. Frank just sat back and laughed at him.

"I hit her, I hit her…" he sang. Suddenly, the door flew open. There stood a totally drenched and pissed off Nikki. She had a black rain cloud hanging over her head. She walked into the room and the cloud followed her, staying above her head and pouring more water on her.

"Why hello Nikki da'lin! Felling a little bit droopy?" Sirius said grinning. Nikki glared at him.

"I can't do anything! I can't do any school work or homework," she yelled.

"Oh poor baby," he said mimicking a sad face. Nikki smiled at him. Sirius' expression immediately filled with horror.

"You're not supposed to be smiling like that. This can't be a good thing," he said.

"On the contrary," she said. "It's a very good thing." She ran up to him and jumped on him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and making the cloud dump water on him also. He pushed her off of him, cursing. Nikki ran over to his bed and stopped just beside it.

"No!" Sirius yelled, realizing what she was about to do. Nikki smiled at him. She got up on it and began to jump all over it. Then she lay down. By this time, his bed was soaked.

"My bed!" he yelled. "Now I have to sleep in a wet bed," he whined.

Nikki mocked a surprised face and put a hand to her mouth. "Oops. Let me get something to dry it off." She went over to his trunk and opened it.

"No! My clothes! Not those too! This wasn't supposed to happen," he said smacking his head. He finally went over to her and picked up, bringing her down to the common room. Nikki turned to him and raised an eyebrow. She smiled at him.

"Great prank," she said. Sirius scowled, now drenched as well. Frank was falling down the stairs, laughing hysterically. A small smile spread on his face.

"I finally hit you!" Sirius said, his mood changing suddenly. He started to dance around the room and then was knocked to his feet by Nikki. She was shooting hexes at him, as well as books. He ducked behind the couch and poked his head up.

"Oh, somebody's a little mad," he said mocking a sad face. Suddenly, he was hit square in the face with a book. He picked it up and read the cover. 'History of Imbecilic Wizards' He held it up.

"How ironic," he heard her say.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" he asked. She raised an eyebrow and threw more at him. He got up and tried running out of the common room. Suddenly, he was knocked on his face. He got up, but tripped on something. He looked down and stared back up in horror. He was wearing a long and tight pink dress with flowers on it. He could barely run because the dress hugged his legs together. What was worse was the fact that he now had boobs to go along with it. He tried to run out of the common room, but had to resort to waddling instead, which didn't work with the high heels.

"This is the second time you've put me in these damn things," he yelled back over his shoulder.

"You deserve it," she called back. Just then, another book hit him in the back of the head. He fell flat on his face, unable to move his legs more than an inch apart.

"Frank! Get your ass over here and help me," he yelled. Frank was practically crying. He hobbled over to where Sirius laid and helped him to his feet. He helped Sirius out of the portrait hole and into the hall.

"Now get me out of this," Sirius ordered. Frank tried to hold his wand steady, but was unable to stop laughing long enough.

"Fine. I'll do it myself," Sirius said indignantly. He waddled down the hall, but was again knocked to his feet by a book. He turned to look over his shoulder and saw Nikki stalking towards him.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME? I CAN'T GET THIS FUCKING THING TO LEAVE ME ALONE," she yelled. Sirius tried to run, but both the heels and dress made this difficult. Finally he turned the corner and looked around for a place to hide. He saw a suit of armor and slipped in behind it. A few seconds later, he saw Nikki stalk past it. He sighed with relief. He waited for a long time, but dared not come out until he was sure he was safe. Night had fallen and the castle had grown dark. He was about to come out, when he heard voices. He stayed silent.

"Well I don't know when they'll finally stop this, but hopefully soon. So, are you going to join my side?" he heard James ask someone.

He sighed with relief.

"James…" he whispered. "James…"

"Who is it?" he heard James asked him, slightly tense.

"The boogey man," Sirius replied sarcastically. "Boo."

"Really. Who is it?"

"Who do you think it is?"

"Sirius? What the hell are you doing out here?"

"Is Nikki near you?" he asked cautiously.

"No. Why are you hiding behind that suit of armor?" Sirius stepped out. He saw James' eyes widen. Then he saw Lily start to laugh.

"I can't get it off," he whined. "And these things keep getting in my way," he said gesturing to his chest. "I don't know how they walk in these things," he said pointing to his shoes. "And, I can't move in this dress." Lily continued to laugh hysterically. James joined in. "It's not funny," he whined.

"What did you do to Nikki?" Lily asked. "Because she certainly outdid herself."

"What makes you think I did anything to her? She's a loose cannon that one. I certainly hope Remus knows just what he wants to get himself into," Sirius said. Then his eyes widened, as did James'. "Shit," he said.

"I knew it," Lily said momentarily ceasing her laughter.

"I didn't say anything," Sirius said. "Now can you get this off of me?"

"Nikki's going to have to do that. I don't know the spell she used," Lily replied. Sirius pouted. He tried to walk off towards the common room, but was extremely unsuccessful. He fell over and couldn't pick himself up, unsure of how to.

"Help me James," he hissed. James helped him to his feet. "And by the way, what are you doing with Evans?" James smiled at him and slid his arm around her waist. Sirius' face fell.

"James! What the hell do you think you're doing! You're fraternizing with the _emeny_!"

"You mean the enemy?" James asked laughing.

Sirius looked confused for a second. "Yeah, that's the word. Anyways, you're supposed to be on my side!"

"Come on Sirius. Let's go see if Nikki will fix you," he said. He helped him walk into the common room. Just when they stepped into the common room, both were hit by at least three books.

"Ow! Shit Nikki! Are you trying to kill us?" James yelled out.

"Just one of you," she called back. She threw another few books at them. James rolled out of the way. Lily was by his side in seconds.

"Are you ok?" she asked frantically.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing his head.

"I know why she's so mad," she said looking up at Nikki. James looked up at Nikki as comprehension dawned on him.

"James! Help me," he heard Sirius call out. "Ok, ok! I give up! I'll take it off," he called out. Nikki stopped throwing the books at him. James went over and got Sirius to his feet. They both walked over to where Nikki was. She glared at Sirius.

"What's the matter? A little wet?" he asked. She picked up a book and held it over her head.

"Ahhh, ok I'm sorry," he said quickly. She put the book down.

"Get it off of me," she said in a deadly voice. Sirius pointed his wand at her and mumbled something. Suddenly, the cloud disappeared. Nikki ran up the stairs and changed into a tank-top and jeans, her hair was in a ponytail. She came back down and smiled at James and Lily.

"Congratulations. Now I can save all my ideas for one person. Two down, one to go," she said glaring at Sirius.

"Two?" James asked. Nikki looked at him with a grin.

"Yes. Frank asked Alice out a little while ago. They're down by the lake, if you want to know."

"Not him too! You're all traitors!" He glared at James and sighed, looking back at Nikki. "Can you take this off of me now?" Sirius asked. She looked him up and down.

"I don't know. I kind of like you this way," he heard Lily say from somewhere behind them.

"Fix," he said. Nikki smiled and pointed her wand at him. Suddenly, he was himself again. "Don't ever do that to me again!"

"Oh but it was so much fun to see you like that," he heard Alice say from behind them. He whirled around and saw Frank with his arm around her waist.

"You're supposed to be on my side," he whined.

"What's the matter Sirius? Can't take me on your own?" he heard Nikki say sweetly. He whirled around and glared at her.

"It that supposed to make me scared?"

His face screwed up with frustration. "Something like that," he said. Nikki laughed.

"Well then, bring it on." She walked past him and up to the dorms. Lily and Alice followed. Soon enough, all three could hear hysterical laughing coming from the room.

"Why do I have a feeling that all that laughing can't mean a good thing for me?" Sirius asked.

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We hope you liked it!

Thanks for reviewing:

RedAndBlack12, remy-moon, EvilHeart89, sarah365 and aznchic2009

We hope you keep reading!

Phoebe and Sadie!


	5. Chapter 5

Phoebe- Well here is another chapter! Sorry it took so long to update but we had to take those stupid tests that the state makes up. You know the ones you have to take and if you don't pass you don't graduate...

Sadie- Yeah and they really suck!

Phoebe- Also someone didn't send me the completed chapter!

Sadie- I wonder who that was?

Phoebe- I don't know maybe YOU!

Saide- Me? Oh yeah right!

* * *

Sirius was sitting on the chair, nearest the fire. He was deep in thought. Flashes of Nikki raced in his mind. What was he going to do about her? He had no clue what else to do. He could try to get into the dorms again. That plan worked out semi-well for him. Just then, an image of that look she had given him when he came back from putting all those posters up flashed in his mind's eye. He shuddered. Nope, bad idea, he thought again. The different pranks raced about in his mind.

"Why are you wasting your time on something new when you could just pull one you've already done?" a voice said in his head.

"Because, I can defend myself easier if you do that. Besides, it's just plain corny," he heard Nikki say. He looked over to the painting and saw her standing there with her arms folded across her chest.

"How did you know…?" he started.

"You have a habit of thinking out loud," she smiled. Sirius' face went red as he realized that the voice he thought was in his head was actually his own voice out loud.

"Yeah well…" he started, but couldn't think of what else to say. Her smile widened.

"At a loss for words Sirius? I guess I just blow you away," she said.

"Don't hold your breath," he mumbled. She laughed. "I don't find any of this funny," he whined.

"Of course you wouldn't," she said, then she walked up to the dorms. Sirius mumbled to himself and sat back.

"Back to the drawing board," said the voice in his head. He looked around him, just to make sure nobody was around that might have heard him.

Up in the girl's dorms

Nikki plopped down on her bed and sighed. She put her head down on her arms and closed her eyes. Her mind hadn't stopped racing since she had gotten hit by the last prank. She wished it would just take a coffee break or _something_. She rolled on to her back and stared up at the ceiling. Just then, she heard a rap on her window. She bolted to her feet on spun around. Hovering next to the window was James. She breathed out in relief and went over to open the window.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Hovering next to this window," he replied with a smile.

She gave him a sarcastic grin. "Well then, lovely to see you. Bye," she said closing the window, but he caught it.

"No actually, have you seen Lils?"

"Last time I saw her, she was down in the library."

"Thanks."

"Bye," she said, staring to close the window again, but he caught.

"Why don't you like me?" he asked.

"What!"

"Why don't you like me? I mean, I am your best friend's boyfriend," he said.

"That doesn't mean a thing," she replied.

"You never answered my question."

"Bye." She quickly closed the window before he could catch it again. She locked it and went back over to her bed. James rapped on the window again, but this time she ignored it. Finally he stopped. She looked over to the window and he was gone. She fell back onto her back and stared up at the ceiling once more, trying to sort through all the thoughts racing about.

In the library

Lily sat at the table, a pile of books sitting in front of her. She was currently reading one of them, looking for more help with her transfurgation homework. She was so engulfed in it that she didn't realize James standing there until her put his hands on her tense shoulders. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Hey," she said softly.

He smiled down at her. "Hey. What are you doing?"

"Trying to get help with the transfurgation homework," she said. She sighed and looked back down at her book. James looked over her shoulder at the words written on the page.

"If you want help, all you have to do is ask me for it," he said. She looked up at him with a smile. "Come with me," he said catching her hand and bringing her up into a standing position. She left her book on the table and swung her bag up on to her shoulder. They walked to the common room.

"I'm just going to put my bag up there. I'll be right back," she said. She slipped her hand from his and pecked him on the cheek. She then turned and went up the stairs. She closed the door gently behind her and turned. She saw a mop of black robes on Nikki's bed. Lily went over to her friend who was laying on her belly. She plopped her bag down and gently rested a hand on her back.

"Nikki? Are you ok?"

Nikki lifted her head and looked at Lily. She gave her weak smile.

"Yeah… I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You just look…different," Lily finished.

Nikki gently shook her head. "Fine," she said. She got up and walked out of the dorm room. Lily frowned and went over to her bed. Something was up. She shook her head as a rush of thoughts burst into her head. She put her bag down on her bed and went back down to the common room. James frowned at her. Frank and Alice were there too. Alice looked at Lily with a questioning look and went over to Lily. Lily grabbed some of Alice's robes and pulled her over to the window, turning so that the two boys couldn't read their lips.

"Do you think Nikki's acting strange?" Lily whispered.

Alice nodded. "When she came down the stairs, she just smiled and left."

"What do you think is up?"

"I don't know, but hopefully she'll be more open tonight. We can ask her then," Alice whispered back. Lily nodded, then both girls turned and walked back to two boys. Both were frowning at them.

"What's up?" James asked.

"I don't know, but are you going to help me or not?" James' face softened and he nodded. Just then, the painting swung open and Sirius waddled in. He smiled broadly at the four of them.

"What are you guys doing?"

"I'm helping Lily with transfurgation. You?"

"At the moment, standing here. In two minutes, up in the dorms planning." He grinned at Lily and Alice.

"Be nice," Lily said.

"She's not very nice to me," he whined.

"Be nice," Lily repeated. Sirius walked past her and up to the dorms, mumbling to himself. James and Frank shook their heads.

"Ok Lily, what exactly do you need help on?"

"Everything! I can't do a single thing," she said.

"Sure you can," he replied. Lily glared at him. "What? A little encouragement never hurt anyone!"

She sighed. "So, what do we start off with?"

"Hey, could we join you two? I need help too," Alice said.

"The more the merrier," James said. "Ok, let's start by trying to change these pillows into animals." Frank plopped two pillows in front of them. They pointed their wands at the pillows and were just about to say something when they were interrupted.

"ARRGH," they heard Sirius scream. Just then, a huge blowup thing bounced down the stairs. Once it hit the bottom, it bounced over to the wall and then the window. It kept on bouncing all over the room, not stopping. The four ducked, trying to avoid being knocked over. As the thing was passing the four, they heard Sirius.

"James! Frank! Help me!" The two looked at each other, their eyes wide.

"James…" Frank said.

"Frank…" James replied, both were following the thing with their eyes as it bounced.

"Now that we're all done playing the name game… some help would be nice," Sirius yelled. James and Frank stood and pointed their wands at him.

"Imobulous," they both yelled in unison. All of a sudden, Sirius stopped moving. James and Frank rolled him to his feet. His whole body was blown up like a bubble. His hands and feet were tiny.

"What happened to you?" Frank asked, clearly amused.

"Nikki," he said. "I laid down on my bed and all of a sudden, I'm like this! I tried to go down the stairs, but because me feet were of no use, I ended up rolling out the door and down the stairs." All four started to laugh.

"It's not funny," he whined, flapping his hands, being the only thing he could move. This just made them all laughed harder. "James! Frank! Help me!" James pointed his wand at Sirius. He said something under his breath and instantly, Sirius was himself again. He spent the next five minutes examining himself, making sure he could move everything.

"How the hell does she come up with these things?" he asked to no one in particular. Just then, the painting swung open and Remus walked in. All four looked at him.

"Where have you been Moony?" Remus looked up at them.

"Pranked yet again Sirius?" he asked with a smile.

"How did you know?"

"Your face tells all." Everyone laughed. Sirius sneered at Remus.

"You still haven't answered my question," Sirius continued. Remus just shrugged.

"Just walking in the moonlight I guess." His three friends all stared at him. "Why are you looking at me like that? They know," he said nodding towards Alice and Lily. They boys looked at them and upon seeing the two nod their heads, they all sighed with relief.

"No really Moony. Where have you been? I haven't seen you recently," Frank said.

"Why is it such a big deal?" The painting swung open and Nikki walked through. Everyone stared at her. She looked at everyone, then at Remus and went up to the dorm rooms.

"Nice prank Nikki," Sirius yelled up after her. His answer was the slamming of the door. "What's up with her?" he asked frowning. Alice and Lily looked pointedly at Remus.

"What!"

"What was that all about?" Lily asked.

"How should I know? I never talk to her!"

"Because, she looked right at you," Alice said.

"I told you, I don't know. And she looked at everyone else too," he said, trying to keep his face blank. Lily and Alice glared at him. Then they went up to the dorms, gently shutting the door behind them. They looked over to Nikki's bed and saw a lump of black robes. They slowly walked over to her. She was laying on her back, just looking up at the ceiling. Her breathing was shallow, but slow. Her pale face contrasted with the bed spread behind her.

"Nikki…" Lily started, but she couldn't think of what to say next.

"Nothing," she said quietly. Lily sighed.

"What's going on? One look at Remus and you bolted right to the dorms."

"Nothing," she repeated. Lily's temper was rising.

"What's up with you two! You're like closed books!" Nikki rose into a sitting position. She narrowed her eyes at Lily.

"Not every book is meant to be read," she said in a deadly voice. Lily was taken aback.

"Nikki, will you just tell us please? We want to help," Alice probed gently. Nikki turned her gaze on Alice.

"Something's can't be helped. Sometimes you just have to make your own mistakes and learn to deal with the consequences," she said quietly. Alice and Lily stared at her. Lily opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Alice's eyes widened.

"You didn't… With Remus…" Lily started. Nikki looked at her at first confused, then her face twisted with disgust.

"_No!_ Get your mind out of the gutter," Nikki said disgustedly. Lily and Alice went a little red. Nikki sighed then stood and went over to the bathroom. She placed both hands on the sink and looked down into it as if expecting something to happen. Lily and Alice appeared at the door. Nikki held up her hand and the door slammed and locked shut. Lily's cheeks grew bright red. She marched down the stairs, Alice on her heels. At the bottom of the stairs, they found the four boys by the window. They marched over to Remus.

"What the fuck did you do to her?" Lily screamed. Remus held up his hands.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

"Oh, I think you do," Alice said. "She looked at you and then locks herself in the bathroom. She said something about mistakes. What did you do to her!"

"I… I'll talk to her ok?" Lily and Alice glared at him. James came over to Lily and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Let him handle it ok?" he whispered in Lily's ear. She nodded. James led her over to the fire and turned her to face him.

"Do you know what he did?" she asked. He shook his head.

"It's not good though," he said. She looked down.

"She won't tell us anything, and we're her two best friends. Who knows what else she has racing in her mind. She's been quiet lately. Do you think that Sirius pranked her?" James shook his head.

"We would have heard about it," he said. Lily nodded her head thoughtfully.

"I don't think she wants to prank him anymore," she said. "She's never been the same since Sirius posted all those posters with my diary entries." James looked down at her thoughtfully.

"What?" Lily asked him.

"I was just thinking," he said.

"Even I could have figured that out. About what?"

"About Remus and Nikki. What could he have possibly done that would make her act that way. Or did he do anything at all?"

"Well, Nikki hasn't told us anything about her liking him, so I don't get why she would be so touchy."

"Girls are way too confusing," he said.

"I beg your pardon," Lily said glaring at him. James' eyes widened.

"I-I didn't mean you of course. I meant just in general I don't get them. You're totally different, I-I mean it's just…you know," he said desperately.

"No actually, I don't," Lily said narrowing her eyes at him. "Enlighten me."

"Well it's just… well what I'm trying to say is that… girls are just so… you know... mysterious and… you can't figure them out and they're so emotional and they get mad at you without telling you why," he said running his hand through his hair.

"Excuse me! Too emotional! Getting mad without telling you why!"

"That's not what I meant," James said quickly.

"Then what did you mean?" James nervously ran his hand through his hair.

"I meant… I-I mean… it's just… girls are…" he sighed.

"Go on. I'm so looking forward to hear how you get yourself out of this one," she said, her eyes transfixed on him.

"Well… you're different… I meant girls in general," he said hopefully. Lily burst out laughing. James looked at her, clearly confused.

"You are so cute when you stumble over yourself," she said.

"You mean to tell me that you put me through all that for entertainment?"

Lily thought about it for a moment. "Kind of. Actually, I was more interested on how you were going to get yourself out of it."

"And did I do a decent job?" he asked, pulling her to him with a smile playing over his lips.

"Let's just say that there's room for improvement," she said as a smile crept over her face. James leaned in and kissed her, but they were interrupted by a pillow thrown at them.

"Get a room," they heard Sirius say. James looked down at Lily, who smiled back up at him. She pulled him down to her and they continued. Another pillow was thrown at them.

"Are you even listening to what I'm saying?"

"Nope," James managed to say. Sirius grunted and went up to the dorms. He came back down with James' invisibility cloak.

"Where are you going with that?" Frank asked.

"To the girl's bathroom," he replied. Alice made a disgusted face.

"How many times have you been there?" she asked eyeing him dangerously.

"Just started doing it. Don't get your bra in a bunch," he said. Alice scowled at him. Sirius returned it with an evil smile.

"Bye," he said, then he darted out the painting. James and Lily were too caught up in their present positions to notice Frank and Alice suddenly going at it as well. Remus looked at his friends and sighed, turning to look out the window. Lily heard him, but decided that it wasn't her business. It felt so good to feel James' hands all over her body. She smiled internally at herself and how lucky she was. She pulled back from James so she could catch her breath. She smiled up at him, keeping her arms around his neck. He smiled back down at her, but his gaze was glassy. Lily frowned up at him.

"James?" He didn't answer. "James?" she repeated. Still the silence was his answer. Lily's frown deepened. "James, I'm breaking up with you," she said. Again, he was in outer space.

"No way," she heard Alice say behind her. Lily turned around. "You're really breaking up with him?"

"_No_!" Then she turned back to James. "I just want you to know that you are a pig-headed, jerk-faced prick with an ego bigger than the entire universe and your head is so inflated that it would take a nuclear bomb just to poke a hole in it," she said to him. "James! Are you even listening to me!" Still, he was in his daze. She slapped him across the face. He shook his head and looked down at her, clearly confused as to what he did wrong. He brought a hand up to his now red cheek.

"What was that for!" Lily frowned.

"You didn't hear a word I just said did you?" James stared down at her, unsure of what to answer.

"Let me tell you mate, it wasn't pretty," he heard Frank say.

"I'm sorry love, I didn't hear _every_ word," he said quietly. Lily eyed him suspiciously.

"What exactly were you thinking about?" James' cheeks flushed.

"I-I don't think it's really appropriate for… public ears," he whispered. Lily started to laugh.

"I hope it was about me," she said. James' cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of red. Lily pecked him on the cheek.

"I'm so glad I agreed to go out with you," she said with a smile. "I'm going to go get my homework. Maybe I'll help you," she said. She slid out of James' arms and headed to the stairs. Just then, Nikki came down them. All four frowned at her.

"What are those looks for? Sirius didn't get hurt right?"

"No he didn't, but that's not why…" Lily started. Nikki held up a hand to stop her.

"Well I'm certainly glad that he didn't," she said. Then she walked the rest of the way down the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Lily asked.

"To freshen up. The girl's bathroom."

"No!" Remus yelled out from near the window. Everyone looked at him, as if just noticing that he was there.

Nikki narrowed her eyes. "Why not?"

"Because Sirius went there under the invisibility cloak," James said. Nikki's eyes widened.

"And you guys let him!" She stalked out of the common room. James looked over at Lily.

"Tell me why I didn't stop him before?" Lily asked aloud.

"Because we were in a slightly compromising position," James answered with a slight smile.

"Right," she said. Then she went up the stairs and grabbed her bag. She came back down the stairs just in time to see Sirius walking through the door, clearly sulking.

"What's the matter Sirius?" Lily asked innocently.

"Who told her I was there? About seven girls were just about to undress," he whined. Alice and Lily made disgusted faces.

"Nikki was going there," Lily said. Sirius sulked over to a nearby couch.

"Oh what's wrong with the poor puppy. Came in here with his tail in between his legs," Alice said, mocking a sad face.

"Nothing," he said. Then he jumped up off the couch. "I have an idea," he said raising his pointer finger in the air. He then sped up to the dorm rooms. Lily and Alice rolled their eyes. Lily walked over to the table and sat down. She spread her work out in front of her. Alice came to join her. The three boys went over to the window and talked quietly about something the girls probably wouldn't have been interested in hearing. All of a sudden, Remus stormed out of the common room. Lily and Alice looked over at their dumbstruck boyfriends.

"What the…" Alice started.

"I don't know. One minute we're talking about girlfriends, the next he storms out."

"Huh, I wonder why?" Lily said looking over at Alice. The two boys shrugged.

"Don't ask us," James said.

"We weren't," Lily said. All of a sudden, Alice and Lily went up to the dorms. Alice closed the door behind her.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Alice asked.

"That James is so totally hot?" Lily asked. Alice rolled her eyes. "That Nikki and Remus are 'involved'?" Lily asked.

"Bingo," Alice said.

"But she would have told us, wouldn't she?" Lily asked thoughtfully. "That's the only part that doesn't make sense," she added. Alice nodded. Then the door swung open and Nikki walked into the room. Her hair had turned a bright purple color, and her face had a ton of make-up on it.

"What's up?" she asked. Lily and Alice stared at her. "What are you looking at?" Alice and Lily closed their eyes and shook their heads, then looked back at Nikki.

"Y-your hair," Lily said.

"Your face," Alice added.

"You like it? I'm trying out a new look," she said, patting her hair.

Lily choked. "You did this to yourself?" she asked incredulously. Nikki burst out laughing.

"You think I did this to myself? Honestly! No way! Sirius 'pranked' me. I'm just going along with it so it will get him madder," she said, a smile still on her face. Lily and Alice sighed in relief.

"You had us going for a moment there," Alice said.

"It really brings out your eyes," Lily said.

"Why thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go study for transfurgation," she replied.

"James and Frank were going to help us. Why don't you practice with us?" Lily said.

Nikki drew in a breath through her teeth and squinted. "I don't think that would be a good idea," she said shaking her head.

"Why not?" Alice asked.

"Trust me," she said. "Bad idea." She went down the stairs, Lily and Alice following her. All four boys were down there. Remus', James' and Frank's eyes widened at the sight of Nikki. Sirius smiled at her, which she dutifully returned.

"Lovely look Summers. Is it new?" he asked.

She patted her hair. "Actually, I want to thank you Sirius. I always wanted to try something new, but never had the guts to do it myself. Now that you've done it for me, I think I rather like it," she said. Sirius' face dropped.

"Y-you do?" he asked astonished.

"Of course. It's perfect for me. Actually, it is the exact color I pictured myself trying out. Again thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go study for the transfurgation test tomorrow."

"You can study with us," James said.

"I don't think that's such a good idea. Besides, I want to show of my new look and see what people think of it," she said. "Chao." She walked trough the painting.

"She wasn't supposed to like it," Sirius said, hitting himself in the face. Frank and James smirked at him.

"Thwarted yet again," Sirius said dramatically. Lily and Alice burst out laughing. James swept Lily up in his arms.

"I love it when you laugh," he said. Lily looked up at him and couldn't help feeling safe in his arms.

"Oh you," she said smiling up at him. "Are you going to help me or not?" James smiled down at her. Lily slipped from his arms and positioned herself behind her pillow, her wand pointed at it.

"Ok, are you ready?" Lily nodded her head, staring intently at the pillow. James admired her for a second, marveling at her beauty. He smiled at himself. Lily looked up him.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

He shrugged. "Ok, what animal do you want it to change into?"

"Any animal, as long as it changes," she said, staring back at the pillow on the ground in front of her.

"Well you have to pick one," he said.

"How about a cat?" she asked.

"Classic," he replied. "Ok, now picture a cat, and then point your wand at it and say tonitrus"

"Ok…tonitrus, did it work?" Lily asked.

"Lily, you have to have your eyes open in order for it to work." James replied.

"Oh right." Lily said blushing.

"It's okay, now try it again." James said. Lily tried it again this time with her eyes open. Suddenly the pillow began to lift in the air and slowly change shape. Finally a small black kitten landed in Frank's lap. Lily smiled and looked up at James. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and told her to reverse the spell. After about ten times she was finally able to transform the kitten back into a pillow.

Lily jumped up and down at seeing the pillow yet again, sitting there in front of her.

"I did it! I did it," she squealed. James chuckled softly. The things that make girls ecstatic. Lily ran over and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him. He wrapped his arms around her waist. She looked up at him with an ear-to-ear grin.

"Congratulations. Now you'll do great on that test tomorrow," he said with a smile.

"And it's all thanks to you," she said.

"Now there's a phrase I never thought I'd hear from you," he said with a laugh.

"Well, change is good. I'm going out with you aren't I?" He faked a wince.

"Ouch," he said. He bent his head towards her. Lily met him halfway. Lily couldn't help noticing how perfectly his lips fit with hers. Everything felt so right when she was in his arms. She pulled back.

"Want to go out tonight? After dinner?" James asked.

"What about the test tomorrow?"

"I don't have to study, and you just did…" he replied. "Besides, we'll just stay around the grounds I guess. You know, maybe by the lake or something," he suggested. Lily thought about it for a moment, and then shrugged her shoulders.

"Why not? I guess a little fun before a test wouldn't hurt too bad," she said. James smiled down at her.

"I'm hungry. Want to go get some lunch?"

"All this studying is really taking its toll on my stomach," she said. The painting swung open and Nikki walked through it. Her hair and face were back to normal.

"That didn't take long," James said.

"Well when you have to take care of a prank that has been done before, you tend to know what works and what doesn't," Nikki replied.

"So I guess you didn't like it after all," Sirius said, a look of satisfaction smug on his face. Nikki smiled at him.

"Purple was never my color, its Alice's. But it was worth pretending I liked it, just to see your reaction to mine," she said. Sirius' face fell.

"I-I knew you were kidding all along..." he said.

"Right. Sure you did," she replied.

"How come I always fall for these things!" Nikki laughed. Then she stopped suddenly, remembering something.

"Sirius? I have something of yours," she said. Sirius looked at her confused.

"What?" Nikki slowly lifted her arm. In her hand was a brown teddy bear. "MR. BONKERZ!"

"You have a teddy bear?" Lily and Alice asked in unison.

"Give him back," he said to Nikki.

She thought about it for a moment. "I could have you doing cartwheels for me right now," she said with a smile.

"Whatever you want! Just don't hurt him," Sirius said desperately. Nikki laughed evilly.

"What should I have him do?" Nikki asked her friends. Lily and Alice looked over at the pleading Sirius.

"Actually, I thought I would have so many ideas if I was ever in this position, but I actually have nothing," Lily replied.

"Me neither," Alice said. Sirius sighed in relief.

"I have an idea," Nikki said. "I want you to wear a purple ballet costume, and dance around the school singing 'I'm a little teapot.'" Nikki said.

"Purple isn't my color," he mocked. Nikki held up the bear. "Purple so is my color," he said quickly.

"I thought so. Well, get a move on then," she said.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have a purple ballet costume," he said sarcastically.

"I can fix that," Lily said. She pointed her wand at Sirius. All of a sudden, his clothes transformed into a skin tight ballet costume, complete with tights.

"I thought you sucked at transfurgation," he said, scowling at her.

"I got better," she said with a wink.

"Thanks James," Sirius mumbled. Everybody started to laugh.

"I'm a little tea pot…" Nikki started. Sirius began to sing the song. He started to dance through the painting and into the halls. Nikki followed him, still holding the bear in her hand. James swept Lily up.

"How does she come up with these things? I mean, Sirius has a lot of time on his hands, and he still can't out do her," he said. Lily smiled up at him.

"Come on James. We're talking about Nikki," she said. James laughed. He had to hand it to her. She was good. He was so glad he wasn't still in the war.

"Aren't you glad I saved you from this?" Lily asked, as if she were reading his thoughts. James smiled down at her.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he said. Lily laughed. Just then, Sirius danced back through the painting. Nikki followed shortly after, smiling broadly. He turned to her.

"Now can I have my bear back?" Nikki laughed.

"Don't you want to change first?" Sirius thought about it for a second before turning to Lily.

"Will you please change me back Lily- Billy?"

"Since when do you call me that?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"Please?" he whined. "This thing is itchy," he said pointing to the tutu. Lily and Alice laughed. "And these tights are riding up my-"

"Ok. Don't need to hear the rest thanks," Alice interrupted.

"Here," Lily said. She quickly flicked her wand and Sirius' clothes transformed back. He turned to Nikki.

"Here you go," she said, tossing the bear to him. Sirius caught it and hugged it. Then he held it at arms length.

"You cost me a lot of trouble mister," he said shaking a finger at it and frowning. Then he smiled at it and hugged it. "I could never stay mad at you. You're a good bear," he said patting it on the head. Everyone stared at him in disbelief. Then they all burst out in laughter.

"Sirius? Are you by any chance gay? I mean, your bear being a guy and all," Lily asked. Sirius frowned at her.

"I am most certainly not! I'm very interested in girls. Just like me, Mr. Bonkerz is a ladies man. He's actually going to marry Ms. Lillian and have little bear kids with her."

"Ms. Lillian?" Lily asked.

"Yeah. That's James' bear. Its red and all that. I told him not to marry her though. She can be a pain in the butt sometimes," he stopped and covered his bear's ears. "Sometimes when I'm really mad at her, I just want to set it on fire," he whispered, then he took his hands from the bears ears. Lily's mouth dropped and her eyes widened. Sirius looked down at his bear. "Don't glare at me like that! Ok, ok. I didn't mean it! Oh shoot! Frank, you can't tell Ms. Alison that he's getting married to Ms. Lillian. He hasn't broken up with her yet."

"Ms. Alison?" Alice said, eyeing Frank. Lily turned to look at James. Both boys went red in the face.

"I… uh… can explain," James stammered.

"Me too," Frank added. Alice and Lily started to laugh.

"I'm sure you can," Lily said.

"Wait a minute. If you three have one, then that means that…" Alice said. All three girls looked at Remus. He shrunk away. Sirius looked back at Remus.

"Yup. Her name is-" but he was cut off by Remus' hand cupped over his mouth.

"I think that's quite enough talking Sirius wouldn't you say?" Sirius shook his head. "I think it is. How's about we go have a little talk huh?" He led Sirius up the stairs, his hand still covering Sirius' mouth. Lily and Alice laughed.

"What's the name?" Lily asked James. He smiled at her.

"Honestly, I don't know. I didn't even know he had one," he said laughing. The three looked over at Nikki. She smiled weakly.

"How about I catch up with you later ok? I… have something to do," she said, heading toward the painting. Alice danced over to her.

"It's got your name on it," she squealed. Lily bounced over to her as well.

"No it doesn't," she said dully.

"Of course it does," Lily said.

"Then why didn't he want Sirius to blurt it out? If it was my name, he wouldn't have rushed to keep Sirius so quiet," she said, trying to get to the painting. But still Lily and Alice hindered her.

"You know Remus. He's shy," Lily reasoned. Nikki turned to her.

"He likes Cassie Dunbar and is currently going out with her. And trust me, she never let's me forget it. She somehow found out that I had a crush on him, and he was just trying not to make it worse by letting Sirius blurt out her name instead of mine. I was just foolish to hope that it was my name on that stupid bear. Please don't tell anyone else." She sighed. "Now if you'll excuse me," she said pushing past her two stunned friends. She ran out of the painting. James came over to them and took a stiff Lily in his arms. He frowned down at her.

"What did she say?"

"Um… nothing," she said shaking her head. She looked over at Alice. Minutes later, Sirius and Remus walked down the stairs with smiles on their faces.

"Hey, where did Nikki go?" Sirius asked. Remus looked around the room and seemed slightly disappointed at not finding her.

"She… um… had something to do," Lily said.

"Is she coming back?" he asked frowning.

"Why do you care? Have another prank in mind?" Alice asked. Sirius' face lightened up.

"Yeah," he said.

"She might be at dinner," Alice said. Sirius' face darkened.

"I have to wait that long?" he whined. Lily nodded.

"I'll go find her," Remus said. "I have to talk to her anyways."

"Um… I don't know if that's such a good idea. She said she had something to do. It sounded pretty important," Alice said.

"Like what?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know," Lily answered.

"I guess I can wait until after dinner," Remus said sighing.

"I don't know if she'll want to talk to you then either. She might be… um... doing her homework. Big test tomorrow in transfurgation. She'll need to study," Alice said. All four boys eyed them suspiciously.

"What's going on?" James asked Lily. She smiled weakly at him.

"Nothing. Nikki's just got stuff going on right now. She's just having a little trouble dealing with some… things," she said.

"Anything I can do to help?" Remus asked. Both girls looked at him.

"Absolutely nothing," Alice said. All of a sudden, Lily's eyes widened.

"Sometimes you just have to make your own mistakes and learn to deal with the consequences," Lily whispered. Alice's mouth dropped.

"She confided in Cassie and…" Alice started.

"Oh no," Lily breathed out. "Nikki…" she said. Lily looked at Alice. "That's why she doesn't tell us anything. She doesn't want to make the same mistake twice."

"But why Cassie instead of us?" Alice asked.

"Who was she also best friends with in first year and second year?" Lily asked. Alice nodded her head. "Oh that… that," Lily started, her cheeks flushing in anger.

"Cassie Dunbar?" Frank asked.

"What does she have to do with any of this?" Remus asked. "And where is Nikki?" Lily and Alice turned to look at the boys.

"I don't know where she is, but I hope she's ok," Lily said sadly. James came over and hugged Lily. "Please don't ever leave me," she said into James' chest. At first he was taken aback at the suddenness of the statement.

He bent down and kissed her on top of her head. "Never," he said into her hair. "Never."

* * *

Phoebe- So there you go!

Sadie- Review Please! And a special thanks to all those who reviewed!

Phoebe- We hope to have the fifth chapter up soon as long as someone sends me the chapter on time!

Sadie- Well me uh...my sister was using the computer! Yeah thats it!

Phoebe- For a whole week? Besides your sister doesn't even no how to spell computer.

Sadie- Thats what spell check is for. Anyway review! Please and thank you!

Sadie and Phoebe


	6. Chapter 6

Sadie- Another Chapter!

Phoebe- Finally! Where have you been?

Sadie- Uh home?

Phoebe- And you couldn't write then?

Sadie- No, um, little green men with beards kidnapped me.

Phoebe- Kidnapped you huh?

Sadie- Yeah. Thats right they kidnapped me!

Phoebe- And how did you get away?

Sadie- I used my karate skills! hee-yah!

Phoebe- The non-existent ones?

Sadie- Yup those are the ones! Hey wait a minute...

Phoebe- (shakes head) Never mind. So anyway what happened with Remus and Nikki in the last chapter?

Sadie- Well you see, Nikki and Cassie were best friends in first year and second year. Nikki told Cassie everythin, including about the crush she has on Remus. Now that shes going out with him, Cassie told him everything, as well as everyone else, just to himiliate her.

Phoebe- Oh I get it now!

Sadie- Good by the way, Happy Bunny Day!

* * *

Chapter 5 

Lily was lying on her back, trying to sort through all the thoughts racing about. She hadn't seen Nikki or Alice all day. She sat up, ignoring the dizziness she suddenly felt. She frowned as her belly made a weird noise. Just then, the door opened and Alice walked in. Lily looked over at Alice.

"James is looking for you," Alice said. Lily stood.

"Have you seen Nikki?" Alice shook her head.

"Remus has been sitting by the fire all day though," she replied. Lily pursed her lips as her brow furrowed.

"Hmmm… I wonder what's going to happen when she finally comes back in here," Lily wondered aloud. Alice nodded her head. Lily walked out of the dorm room, Alice following her. Both girls looked over to the fire place and sure enough, Remus was sitting in a chair. Lily looked sadly at Alice over her shoulder before walking over to James. He slid his arms around her waist and looked deep into her eyes.

"I'm hungry. What to go with me to get some dinner?" he asked. Lily was about to decline when her stomach made a noise in protest to her thoughts. James smiled down at her.

"I guess that's a yes," Lily said, going a little red in the face. They both looked over at Frank and Alice.

"You two coming to dinner?" James asked them. Frank nodded.

"Hey Moony? You coming too?" Frank called over to Remus. He looked at them and got up, walking toward them.

"I'm starved," he said. All of a sudden, Sirius flew down the stairs.

"Did someone say dinner?" he asked. James, Frank and Remus smirked at him. "What?"

"Yes, we're going. Are you coming with us?" James asked. A smile slid over Sirius' face.

"Why Jamesie. I thought you would never ask," he said. James rolled his eyes and led Lily from the room. The five made their way down to the Great Hall and sat down at the table. Remus and Sirius kept looking around the room.

"Looking for someone?" Lily asked them.

"Well I'm looking for Nikki," Sirius replied. Lily raised her eyebrows at Remus.

"I, um, was just looking for Cassie," he said quietly. Lily fixed him with a penetrating gaze. Remus avoided her eyes and looked down at his plate. Lily looked over at Alice. Suddenly, the long tables filled with mountains of food.

"This is the best part!" Sirius said his eyes wide with excitement. Lily and Alice rolled their eyes at him and started to put food on their plates. They had barely started eating when a blob of mashed potatoes hit Lily on the cheek.

"Ew! Sirius, can you please at least try to keep your food in your mouth?" she asked annoyed. He just grinned at her and continued to shovel food into his mouth. Alice hid her face from the flying food with a notebook. She cast a side-long glance at Frank who shrugged before he started to eat himself. Finally, Sirius had finished his plate. He looked around at their plates.

"Seeing as your not very hungry and probably aren't going to finish that, I'll take that off your hands Lily-Billy," he said grabbing her plate.

"I don't think so," Lily said grabbing her plate from him. "And if you ever call me Lily-Billy again, you are dead," she said glaring at him. Sirius shrank away from her.

"I'm stuffed anyways," he mumbled. Lily and Alice finally started eating. Sirius excused himself and sauntered over to the Hufflepuff table.

"So Lily, are we going to go out to the lake after this?" James asked quietly. Lily nodded her head and James slid his arm around her waist. Lily looked over at Alice.

"Are you going back to the dorms after this? Or do you have plans?" Lily asked her.

"Well, me and Frank were planning on doing something out on the grounds. Like maybe a walk or something. Why? Do you need something?"

Lily shook her head. "Just wondering," she said. Finally, Lily and James stood, followed by Frank and Alice. All four walked out of the hall and stopped in front of the big oak doors. James led Lily out on the grounds. The sun was just setting and the lake was enveloped in a pink blanket. They stood at the shore, just gazing out on the water. Lily leaned against James' muscular frame. She didn't know what had compelled her to finally go out with him, but she did know that she would rather be here than anywhere else in the world. She sighed contently.

"It's so pretty," she said quietly. James nuzzled the crook of her neck.

"But it doesn't compare with you," he said as he gently kissed her neck. She smiled and turned in his arms. He smiled down at her and bent his head towards her. His lips crushed against hers. His tongue pressed against her lips and she parted them. She felt his tongue explore every part of her mouth as his hands did the same to her body. She ran her hands through his messy hair. He pressed her closer to his body and she slightly smiled as his hand slipped up her shirt. His thumb played with her navel as his other hand ran up and down her back, every now and then venturing to her hips. She pushed him back so she could catch her breath, leaving her hand flat on his chest, and the other one still around his neck.

"Tell me why I agreed to go out with you?" she asked playfully.

"Because you find me irresistible," he said with a smile. Lily laughed. James drew her up in another kiss. Once they broke apart, Lily leaned her forehead against his chest. She could feel his fast paced heart beat slamming against his chest. She smiled slightly, knowing that her heart was doing the same thing. She looked back up at James.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked her.

"It's a jumble of things," she said. "But mostly about how our lives will end up." James smiled down at her. He led her along the shore of the lake, their fingers interlocked. Finally, they were surrounded in darkness. James pulled Lily to him.

"It's getting late," he said. "Maybe we should be getting back." Lily nodded and they started back to the castle. They walked up to the common room and found Remus sitting by the fire again. Sirius was in the corner fiddling with some sort of contraption, and Frank and Alice were sitting at the table, talking quietly. They looked up and smiled at Lily and James. They walked over to Frank and Alice and sat down in the empty chairs.

"Mind if we but in?" James asked.

"Not at all. We were just talking about this whole Sirius and Nikki thing," Frank said.

"What about it?" Lily asked.

"Well, Sirius doesn't seem to want to give up, and Nikki doesn't seem to like being in this whole thing, so we were just discussing a way to get Sirius to surrender," Alice said.

"And I've told my dear Alice that Sirius would never give up, even though Nikki has thoroughly whipped his butt," Frank said. They all laughed.

"True," Lily agreed. "So what have you come up with so far?"

"Well, that's it. We don't have a clue," Alice said. Lily frowned.

"Well, what ideas have you come up with?" James asked.

"Well, we started with Nikki whooping him so bad, that he just wants to give in, but you know Sirius," Frank said.

"Then we thought of bribing him," Alice said. "But who knows what it would take," Alice finished shuddering at the thought. Lily shook her head.

"Absolutely not," she agreed.

"So… this leaves us where?" James asked.

"At the beginning," Frank said.

"Not much of a conversation is it then?" Sirius piped in. They all looked over at him.

"You heard the whole thing?" Lily asked.

"Well, you're not exactly the quietest of the bunch now are you?" Lily stood and glared at him. He laughed nervously. "I-I was just kidding," he replied timidly. Lily looked down at James.

"I'm going to get some sleep ok?" James nodded his head.

"Sweet dreams. See you in the morning," he said as Lily pecked him on the lips.

"Sweet dreams," she said with a smile.

"Goodnight sleeping beauty," Sirius said. Lily glared at him. "What? It's better than calling you a beast! Hey get it? Beauty and the Beast?" he said wiggling his eyebrows. Lily rolled her eyes before going up the stairs to the dorms. "Hmmm, losing your touch Sirius," she heard him say. She opened the door and quietly closed it behind her. She looked over at Nikki's bed and saw that it was empty. She sighed and went over to her trunk. She changed into her shorts and tank top before climbing into her bed. The door opened and Alice came in. She too looked over the Nikki's bed and sighed.

"Wonder where she is," Alice wondered aloud. Just then, the door opened yet again. Nikki walked through.

"Where have you been?" Lily asked.

"Who are you? My mother?" she replied. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Are you ok?" Nikki nodded her head and went over to her bed. She plopped down on her back.

"So, where have you been?" Alice asked.

"First in the library, then by the lake," she answered. "By the way, that was some schmoozing Lily," she said, chuckling slightly.

"You watched?" Lily replied with a smile.

"How could anyone not? You were practically right in the middle of the grounds. Besides, he was all over you, not to mention the crowd of Lily-haters staring," she finished. Lily frowned.

"Was it really that obvious?" she asked.

"Depends whose side you're on. If your part of the Lily-haters club, then absolutely. If you're just an innocent bystander like myself, then…" she paused for a second, as if choosing her words. "Yeah, I'd say it was pretty noticeable." Lily laughed.

"Innocent bystander? You!"

"Hey, it could happen," Nikki replied.

"Did Remus catch you when you came up by any chance?" Alice asked. Nikki sighed.

"Actually, yes. But I told him that her majesty was waiting outside, and he ran right out." Lily and Alice looked at each other.

"Did he say anything before that?" Lily pressed.

"Nope. He just stood up. Why do you guys ask?" she asked them bringing herself up, resting on her elbows and frowning at her friends.

"He was sitting there all day, waiting for something," Alice said.

"And after you left, he said he wanted to talk to you," Lily finished.

"I can't imagine about what," she said lowering herself back down on her bed.

"Maybe it was about you," Alice said quietly. Nikki chuckled.

"Don't get your hopes up," she said. "Can we stop talking about me now?"

"Well then, how do we get Sirius to surrender?" Alice asked.

"If I knew the answer to that, I would have gotten him to do it by now," Nikki said.

"Well, do you have any ideas?" asked Lily.

"Honestly, I haven't been able to give it much thought considering a certain someone has been pestering me." Nikki raised herself on her elbows again and frowned. "But I do have an idea on how to stop her," she finished.

"And how would you do that?" Alice asked. Nikki lay back down.

"Don't worry about it. Now, let me see. We could get Sirius' bear again. You see how he would have done anything to get it back. However, I can't be the one waving it in his face. It shows that I have to resort to playing dirty to stop him. One of you would have to do it," Nikki said. Lily looked at Alice.

"He'll have that bear under lock and key," Lily said. "By the way, where did you get it the first time?"

Nikki laughed. "Actually, I found it right where he was hiding in the girl's bathroom." Lily and Alice made a face.

"Ew," Lily exclaimed.

"Tell me about it. So, now that you've thoroughly dissed my idea, got any of your own?"

"Well, um, no," Lily said. "But Frank and James have been helping us think of stuff."

"And…"

"We still got nothing," Alice said.

"You never know, they could be double agents," Nikki said.

"Never," Lily replied.

"They would never do that," Alice agreed. Nikki raised herself again and raised an eyebrow.

"No? They aren't only your boyfriends, but they're Sirius' best mates. Just because they're going out with you, doesn't mean they automatically switch sides. I actually wouldn't be surprised if they were planning something right now." All three girls looked at the door.

"It's probably nothing. Just some harmless little prank," Lily said uncertainly. Nikki rolled her eyes.

"Nothing that has to do with Sirius is harmless. Whatever. I'm going to bed." Nikki rolled off her bed and changed into her pajamas. Alice did the same. Then they both climbed into their beds.

"Good night. See you in the morning," Lily said drowsily. She got the same drowsy response from her two friends before drifting off into a peaceful sleep, with James as the main thought.

Lily was awakened by a pillow thrown at her head.

"Lily! Get up," she heard Nikki say. Lily opened her eyes and looked around the room. She saw Nikki standing next to the bed, a pillow limp in her hand.

"So you're the culprit," she said drowsily. Nikki smiled down at her. "What do you want?"

"For you to get up," Nikki said. She walked back over to her bed and dropped onto it.

"Oh no you don't. Why do I have to get up if you can just go back to sleep?" Nikki groaned.

"Because James' owl keeps pecking me awake. I think it's confused." Just then, the owl pecked her again. "Go away you stupid bird," she said swatting at it.

"Maybe the letter is for you," Lily said. Nikki grunted in response. Lily closed her eyes again and tried to go back to sleep, but she couldn't. She got up and went into the bathroom to take a shower. The hot water felt extremely good against her skin. She closed her eyes and let the water fall softly on her face. She grabbed the shampoo bottle and squeezed some on her hand. She put the bottle down and lathered her hair and body. She rinsed off and savored the feeling of the water for a bit longer. Then she turned it off and stepped out. She toweled off and got dressed in her school clothes. She looked over at Nikki who was sleeping again, with the owl by the head. She smiled and went over to Alice.

"Alice," she said softly. "Alice get up." Alice groaned and put a pillow over her head. Lily smiled. "Alice, Frank wants me to tell you that he's breaking up with you." Alice shot up, her eyes wide. She looked over at Lily, and upon seeing the smug look on her face, she smacked her arm.

"Don't do that to me Lils! You almost gave me a heart-attack!"

"Well your awake aren't you?" Alice mumbled something to herself and got up. She went into the bathroom and started to take a shower. Lily went over to Nikki's bed. She reached out and pet the bird. It looked at her and pecked Nikki on the cheek again. Now there was numerous red marks plastered all over her cheek. Lily laughed.

"Nikki, get up and take the damn note form the bird."

"It's James' bird, so it's probably for you. You take the damned note," she replied groggily. Lily sighed and reached for the note, but the bird nipped her.

"Hey! She told me to," she said indignantly. "Nikki, it bit me." Nikki shot up and glared at the bird.

"I just wanted to let you know that you have officially ruined my sleep and are very lucky that I haven't made a pot roast out of you. However, that could all change," she finished. The bird just looked at her and stuck its leg out. Nikki mumbled something to herself, untied the parchment and held it up in her hand. "There, happy?" The bird just looked at her and flew out of the window. Nikki fell back on her pillow and unrolled the parchment. She handed it to Lily.

"What does it say?" Lily asked.

"I told you that stupid bird was confused." Lily took the parchment and read. Her face fell as she read it. She fell on to Nikki's bed.

"Oh on," she groaned.

"Lucky you," Nikki said. "Get to go to big sister's wedding."

"Oh shut up! But why did it come with James' bird?"

"Maybe we have more than one confused bird," Nikki said sarcastically. "Doesn't matter to me. I think they're all nuts. Nothing but feathers in there." Lily rolled her eyes. Alice came out of the shower. Nikki rolled off the bed. Alice looked at her.

"What happened to your cheek?" Nikki touched her raw cheek and winced.

"James' bird," she said.

"What?"

"Don't ask me," Nikki said as she walked into the bathroom to take a shower. Alice looked at Lily.

"What's the matter?"

"This," she said holding up the parchment, "is an invitation to Petunia's wedding."

"Oh. Are you going to go?"

"I don't have a choice," Lily said miserably.

"It can't be that bad," Alice reasoned putting her things in her trunk.

"Oh yes it can," Lily said. Alice turned and smiled at her.

"Nothing that James can't fix," she said. A smile slid onto Lily's face.

"I guess your right." Nikki came out of the bathroom. Her cheek still had lots of red beak marks on it.

"Ready for another fun-filled day of school?" she asked sarcastically.

"Actually, yes," Lily said.

"Well that makes one of us," Nikki said.

"I am too," Alice piped in.

"Great, now I've just become the minority. Somebody shoot me."

"Why are you so sarcastic this morning?" Lily asked frowning at her.

"Sorry, I've just got things going on. I'm afraid that the real me is coming through, but I'll try my best to hide it," she said. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"The real you?"

"According to Cassie, I'm a snobbish pig that doesn't know anything about men. She said that I was a sarcastic bitch." She paused, then continued. "Oh and did I forget to mention that she said I needed a life?"

"Since when do you let anything she says get to you?" Alice asked.

"Since she told Remus that I had a crush on him. Now all of a sudden, he wants to talk to me? Hmmm, does anything seem not right with this picture?" Nikki threw her hands up in the air. "Whatever. I don't care anymore and you shouldn't either. I'll just go on living my life the way I want to." She walked over to the door and turned to look back at her friends. "This won't leave the room, right?"

"Nikki, we aren't like Cassie. We are actually your friends," Lily said walking over to her. Alice joined them. "How about we get breakfast?" Both girls nodded and they went down the stairs. At the bottom, James swept Lily up in his arms and kissed her.

"How was your sleep?" he asked.

"It was ok. And yours?" He smiled down at her.

"Good."

"Hey Summers. Trying out a new blush? You missed the other side," Sirius said to Nikki. Nikki glared at him.

"What did you do?" James asked her frowning. Nikki whirled on him.

"Your stupid bird kept pecking me. It wouldn't stop until I took the bloody parchment from it," she said.

"Well isn't that what it's supposed to do? Duh," Sirius said. Nikki sent daggers at him.

"It was addressed to Lily you idiot, hence, that is why I called it stupid."

"Oh." James looked at Lily.

"What did it say?"

"Petunia invited me to her wedding," she said frowning. "Actually, I think mom made her. Anyways, do you want to be my escort?" James smiled down at her.

"Of course." He kissed her.

"I'm hungry," Sirius whined.

"Breaking news," Nikki said.

"Hey Nikki?" Remus said. Everyone turned to look at him. They hadn't noticed he was sitting by the fire. "Can I, um talk to you?" he asked quietly.

"I, um, actually have to go. Big test in Transfurgation you know. See yah Lils, Alice," she said. She turned and walked toward the painting. She walked through it, but she knew that he was following her. She quickened her pace and headed toward the library. She could feel him catching up to her. Turning the corner, she almost crashed into Cassie.

"Watch where you're going, you little bitch," she said as she looked disgustedly at Nikki. Nikki actually had never been happier to see Cassie, but her face hardened at the insult. Now she didn't care that Remus had caught up to her. He saw Cassie and his face went blank.

"Excuse me your highness," Nikki said, her voice practically dripping with malice.

"Once you get a life, maybe you can upgrade from your fantasy world to where guys actually go out with you," Cassie said.

"Oh, so I guess you mean I have to turn into a whore like you," Nikki retorted, not caring that Remus was right behind her.

"Did you hear that Remus? Did you hear what she said to me? And to think that she actually has a crush on you? To think that she actually thinks that she has a chance with you?" Cassie said. "Get real Summers. The only guys you're ever going to be with are the ones you dream about. No one would ever want a stupid, low-life bitch like you," she said with a smile. "You'll never have a chance with Remus. You know, I bet he never even gave you a second glance, but you, you would stare at him _all_ the time. I remember that night you told me, and now look who he's with. Me." Nikki's vision blurred with tears, but she couldn't let them out, not in front of Cassie, not in front of anyone. She had never let anyone see her cry before, and that wasn't about to change. She knew very well that Remus was behind her, watching every move she made, but the fact still remained that he didn't do anything to stop it. Nikki walked around Cassie and continued to the library, but Cassie stepped in front of her. "That's right Summers. Go and dream about all those guys you're never going to be with. Maybe Remus is one of them," she finished laughing. Nikki went around her again and continued the walk to the library.

Back in the common room.

Lily watched Remus follow Nikki out of the portrait and looked at Alice.

"This is not going to end well," she said. James frowned down at her.

"What's going on?" Lily weakly smiled up at him.

"Nothing," she said. "Let's go eat something." She led him from the common room, everyone following them. They went to the Great Hall and sat down. Remus was already there. His elbows were resting on the table, his head in his hands. Frank touched his shoulder.

"Did you talk to her?"

"No. We ran into Cassie," he said. "Now, I don't know where she is." He slammed his hands on the table. "How could I have been so stupid? There Cassie was, just ripping Nikki apart, and I did nothing to stop her." Lily and Alice's eyes widened.

"You did what!" Lily shrieked.

"And you don't know where she is?" Remus shook his head. All of a sudden Cassie sauntered over to them. She sat next to Remus and hugged him. He moved away from her. She frowned at him.

"What's the matter?"

"Apparently, you don't get the meaning of over. As in you and I are no more. Broken up. Not together," Remus replied. Everyone at the table looked wide-eyed at him.

"This has to do with that bitch! Remus, I was putting her in her place. She can't just walk around here with the notion that you like her when that's not true," she reasoned. "So, I guess that you should just go back out with me."

"See that's the thing. I do like her. And she was absolutely right about you. You are a whore. I just can't believe that it took me so long to see it."

"What did you call me! For your information, she's no better. I bet she works at some club just _so_ guys look at her. And frankly, I'm surprised at your taste in girls. I mean, just look at me. I'm perfect," she said looking herself over. Remus laughed.

"You, perfect? Tell me I'm dreaming please!" Cassie glared at him.

"Fine, I just want to let you know that if you leave me now, I'll never want you back," she said.

"Ok then, bye," he said.

"How dare you!"

"Uh, I believe he said the _word_," Sirius said. Cassie glared at him, then at Alice and Lily.

"You can tell your little friend that this is not over," she said before storming off. Lily and Alice looked at Remus.

"I think you'd better find Nikki and smooth this whole thing over with her," Lily said.

"Problem is that she threatened to hex me if I ever came near her again," Remus said sadly.

"So you did see her," Alice said.

"In the library. Then she ran out and I haven't seen her since."

"She'll be in Transfurgation," Lily said. "But if she threatened you, I don't know if she'll want to talk to you." Remus sighed.

"I totally screwed this whole thing up."

"Yeah you did," Sirius said.

"You're not helping Padfoot," Remus said. Sirius grinned at him.

"Well, what a fun day this is going to be," James said. He started to fill his plate. The others followed him. They all ate and went to their first classes. Later on during the day, Lily and Alice walked into the Transfurgation room. They both went to the first table and sat down in their usual seats. They watched the door, looking for Nikki. Finally, she came through it, hugging her books close to her chest and looking down. She looked up at her friends and gave them a weak smile. They smiled back. She sat down in her seat.

"Rough day today. Big test in Arithmacy," she said. Lily and Alice nodded.

"How are you feeling?" Lily asked.

"Fine, just fine," she replied.

"He's been looking for you all day," Alice said.

"Well now he sees me," Nikki said. "Listen, could we maybe drop this please?"

"He broke up with Cassie," Lily said. "Just after…"

"I know. Trust me, I've heard all about it. And so has the whole school for that matter. Everything," she said. Lily and Alice's eyes widened. "Now, let's pretend that none of this happened ok?" Lily and Alice nodded. Nikki smiled at then and turned to face the front. Lily and Alice prepared themselves for the test, vaguely aware of the four boys behind them.

The test was hard, but Lily passed it. She kissed James as thanks, which he dutifully returned. Nikki was able to slip out of the room before anyone noticed. Lily hadn't seen her all day, and probably wouldn't until bed time. She sighed at the whole mess. Petunia's wedding was only a week away unfortunately. They were all in the common room when they heard someone shouting outside. They all ran out into the hall to see a group gathered around someone. Lily and Alice rushed forward and saw that there was a group of girls around Cassie, intent on everything she was saying. Nikki was right in front of her.

"You little bitch. You took away my man," she yelled at Nikki.

"I didn't take anything away from you. You lost him all by yourself," she retorted. Cassie balled her fists up.

"If it hadn't been for you, he would still be with me," she said.

"As far as I'm concerned, you're the one who lost him. You told everyone about me. You even made up stories about me. _You _are the one who brought me into this, so it's _your _fault."

"You slut," Cassie said. She lunged at Nikki. Nikki side-stepped her and she fell to the ground beside her. Everyone laughed at Cassie.

"Having fun yet?" Nikki asked. Cassie screamed at her and lunged for Nikki's ankles. Nikki jumped up and out of the way. Cassie again missed her.

"I'll get you back bitch."

"Wow, I guess your really taking this hard," Nikki said mocking a sad face. "Don't worry; it'll all blow over soon enough."

"I hate you."

"Breaking news! Never thought I'd hear that one coming from you," Nikki said sarcastically. She turned, but Cassie had leapt up and scratched her face from behind.

"Oh, now I've made her mad," Cassie said. Everyone laughed, then they abruptly stopped. Nikki slowly turned to face Cassie. Her eyes were full of pure hatred, and sent a chill down Cassie's spine. Lily and Alice shivered at the look as well. Nikki had three deep red marks coming from her chin to just next to her left eye. Cassie's face dropped and she started to back away.

"What's the matter? Afraid?" Nikki asked, malice dripping off every word.

"N-n-no," she managed her eyes wide with fear.

"Really? You sure look like you are," Nikki said. Everyone in the crowd held their breath. All of a sudden Remus jumped in the center with them.

"Nikki, don't do this," he said, his hands out in defensive position.

"Oh, price charming here to help," Cassie said.

"I would close my mouth if I were you," Remus hissed. Cassie looked back at Nikki and tightly closed her mouth.

"I'm not doing anything. Just scaring the living shit out of her," Nikki said, her eyes fixed on Cassie.

"Well I think you've done a decent job," Remus said.

"Yeah? I don't know…" Nikki said.

"What happened to your face?"

"Why don't you ask the little bitch you're protecting," Nikki said. Remus cast a side-long look at Cassie. She nervously laughed.

"I, um, got a little upset," she said. Nikki walked toward them. Cassie shrieked and Remus grabbed her arm. Nikki looked at him with a gaze so filled with hatred that he was taken aback.

"Touch me again…" she said in the deadliest voice he had ever heard form her. She yanked her arm from his grasp and walked past them. The crowd parted for her and as she walked away, she could hear whispering. Nikki ducked into the portrait. She ran up the stairs to the dorms and locked herself in the bathroom.

Back in the hallway

Remus rounded on Cassie.

"Now look at what you've gotten yourself into. She could have killed you!" Cassie raised an eyebrow.

"So you really do care about me," she said smugly. Remus smirked at her.

"No not really. I just don't to see Nikki get sent to Azkaban. Just stay away from her. Next time, I won't save you."

Cassie's face fell. "You heard her. She only wanted to scare me. She'd never really do anything. She's a wimp."

"Don't take your chances," he said. The crowd drew in a collective breath.

"Well you certainly screwed up all chances you had with her. She hates you now. You basically showed her that you really do care for me just now. She won't ever let you touch her again," Cassie said with a smile. Remus sighed.

"I know. But I guess I have you to thank for that."

"Just doing my job. If I can't have you, then no one else will. That will teach you to brake up with me," she replied. The crowd held their breath, all eyes on Remus. He just laughed at her and started to walk away. Cassie caught his arm. "Don't you dare walk away from me," she said.

"Wow are you desperate," Remus said. "Just to let you know, the minute Nikki saw that you were afraid of her, you lost this battle Cassie." Cassie's eyes widened.

"I won't let that bitch win," she said.

"You already have." Remus yanked his arm away from her and walked into the common room. His friends followed him. He went over the to the girls dorm stairs and muttered a quick spell before going up them. The rest of them sat by the fire and listened intently. Everything was dead silent. They all held their breaths and waited as the darkness of the night filled in around them.

Up in the dorms.

Nikki had just stepped out of the bathroom, wiping her eyes. She went over to her bed and sat on it, trying to hold everything else in. Just then she heard something behind her. She stood and whirled around, seeing Remus come out of the shadows.

"You," she said her gaze and voice filled with anger and hatred. He put his hands up in defense.

"I just want to talk to you," he said cautiously.

"I don't want to talk to you," she replied.

"Evidently so because you keep running away from me every time," he said.

"Why do you think that is?" she asked sarcastically.

"I broke up with Cassie," he said.

"Believe me, I've heard all about it," she said.

"I'm really sorry about all that she said to you. I-I didn't mean for it to happen." Nikki stayed silent. "I-I just wanted to apologize for everything that you had to go through." Still Nikki didn't reply. "I'm also sorry that I didn't stop it." He paused, waiting for her to say something, but she didn't. "Damn it. Say something!"

"Like what? Its ok, you're forgiven? Is that what you want me to say? Fine then, you're forgiven," she said. Remus noticed the glint of a tear. She impatiently wiped it away. "Happy now?" Remus sighed.

"No," he said.

"What else do you want from me? Do you want me to pretend like nothing happened? Just pretend it was some bad dream?" she asked him. This time, she couldn't stop the tears from falling. She turned away in shame.

"It's ok to cry you know. I don't mind," he said quietly.

"Well I do. Not in front of you, not in front of anyone," she replied, her voice trembling.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry."

"I know. We've been over this. You're forgiven."

"But you don't really mean it," he said.

"How do you know?"

"Because I can tell it in your voice."

"My whole life has been displayed in front of the school. My secrets, out for show and tell. Rumors spread about me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. And you, you just stood there with a blank look on your face, doing absolutely nothing, watching her tear me apart. And you expect me to forgive you, like it's nothing! I said what you wanted to hear, now leave me alone," she said.

"I want you to mean it," Remus said desperately. "I'm sorry. I really am."

"A little too late," Nikki said. Remus was about to say something, but he was cut off when Nikki held up a hand. "Don't say anything else. I forgive you, now just leave me alone. Go back out with Cassie. Either way, she's never going to leave me alone. Just give her the satisfaction ok?" Remus sighed and turned to the door and slowly went out, back down to the common room. His friends looked up at him. He sadly shook his head. Lily got up and patted his arm.

"We'll talk to her, Alice and me."

"I made her cry," he said sadly.

"She was hurt. Really badly by someone she trusted. What else did you expect? Something like this needs time to heal," she replied softly. Remus nodded his head and went to sit by the fire. Alice and Lily went up to the dorms. They quietly closed the door behind them and saw Nikki laying on her bed. They went over and Lily rested her hand on Nikki's back. She looked up at her, her cheeks glistening with tears.

"He's really sorry," Lily said.

"I know, it's just…" Nikki let the sentence hang. Her friends nodded.

"He's going to give you time," she said. "For now, just relax." Nikki nodded. They all went to bed.

The next day

An owl pecked Lily awake. She drowsily opened one eye and looked at it. It had a package for her. She took it and the owl flew off. She looked over at Nikki and Alice who were still sleeping. She smiled despite herself and opened the package. Inside was a dress. She stood and held it up against her body. It was a peachy-orange color. It was full length with long see-through sleeves. It was all ruffles, starting at her neck and all the way down. Once on her body, it would flare out like a tent. She made a face. 'Who on earth would send me such an ugly thing to wear?' she thought. She looked back in the box and read a note.

"I CAN"T WEAR THIS! HOW CAN SHE EXPECT ME TO WEAR THIS!" she yelled. Alice shot up, her eyes wide. Nikki lifted her head to look at Lily. She groaned.

"Not again. This is twice this week that my sleep has been ruined."

"What is that for?" Alice asked. Lily frowned at her.

"Petunia wants me to wear this as a bridesmaid dress!" Alice and Nikki laughed. "This is not funny you two!"

"She… wants you… to wear… that?" Alice managed through fits of giggles. Lily frowned.

"Wow, she's really spending a lot of money to make you look bad," Nikki said, a smile playing on her lips.

"You're not helping the situation. Either of you," Lily said glaring at them. Alice just laughed harder. Nikki fell back against her pillow.

"Wonder what James is going to say," Alice asked, her giggles finally subsiding.

"That I would pay to see," Nikki said looking up at the ceiling smiling.

"I can't let him see me like this," Lily shrieked. Alice started to laugh again.

"He is going to be your escort. Might as well prepare him now," Nikki said. She got up and walked over to Lily. "Put it on and go show him." Lily shook her head. "Don't make me do it myself. Believe me, I don't want to." Lily started to put the dress on. It flared around her body. Alice tried not to laugh. Lily could see Nikki trying to hold it in too. She sighed and went over to the door. She started down the stairs. At the bottom, James stood, his eyes widening.

"Holy cow Lily! What the hell is that!" Sirius said.

"It's my bridesmaid dress for Petunia's wedding," Lily said sadly.

"Well, um, you look… lovely," James said.

"I look like a fucking pumpkin!" Lily said.

"One that's not all the way ripe yet. You would make some sour pumpkin juice Lils," Sirius said. Lily glared at him. "Just being honest," he said shrugging. Lily sighed and turned to go back up to the dorms. Nikki and Alice looked at her.

"How did it go?" Alice asked.

"Surprisingly well," she replied. She took the dress off and went into the shower. Afterward, Nikki and Alice got ready for school too. They continued the rest of the day.

It was now two days before Petunia's wedding. Lily and James were going to leave the next day on the train home. Lily wasn't too excited about it, though James was optimistic. They were sitting in the common room by the fire when James's owl flew through the window. He retrieved the letter and opened it. His face fell as he let it drop on to his lap. Lily touched his shoulder.

"James? Is everything ok?" He looked at her. She was taken aback at the amount of sadness in his eyes. "James, what's wrong?" James looked down at the parchment on his lap. Lily took it in her hands and began to read it out loud.

"_Dear Mr. James Potter,_

_We regret to inform you that your parents have been murdered by death eaters. Being a very big part of our network to stop Lord Voldemort, this is a big blow to us as well. We are pleased to inform you that they have helped us become very close to brining Lord Voldemort to his downfall. Again, I am sorry for your loss. Their funeral will be-" _Lily stopped abruptly and stared down at the date. "In two days," she finished.

* * *

Phoebe- Yeah so R&R and check outthe other story Lone White Fox, its a story between Nikki and Remus! Sadie wrote the whole thing and it is done were just posting it every week so people have time to review and what not! 

Sadie- Hoped you liked the chapter!

Happy Easter!

Love,

Phoebe and Sadie


	7. Chapter 7

Phoebe- Okay here you go another chapter!

Sadie- Just don't hate us to much... it will get better or does it?

IceAngel89- We plan to have Harry in the story, but much later!

krazygerl- The funeral for James parents is in two days! (Same day as Petunias wedding!)

Hope that clears things up for you guys!

Thanks to: aznchic2009, britishrocmysocz, IceAngel89, and krazygerl for your reviwes.

And avery special thanks to MioneJ.G.!

* * *

Lily let the parchment fall onto her lap. 

"Oh my God," she breathed out. She looked over at James. "James, I'm so sorry," she said shaking her head. He looked over at her, his eyes glassy.

"I never got to say goodbye," he said dazed. Lily hugged him. She could feel his deep slow breaths. She squeezed her eyes shut. They stayed like that until they saw Frank and Alice walk through the portrait. They both looked quizzically at them, but Lily saw them and shook her head. They walked back out. She pulled back.

"Are you going to ok? Do you need to leave now?" she asked.

"I'll be fine. I-I'm sorry that I can't escort you to your sister's wedding." Lily shook her head.

"Don't worry about it," she said quietly. "I'll be ok."

"You can't get out of your sister's wedding?' he asked hopefully.

"I can't. Mom won't let me. Trust me, I would rather be with you than her wedding, but I have no choice. I'm sorry," she said. James looked down at his hands and Lily couldn't help but feel terrible. She watched him get up. He turned to her and held out his hands. She took them and he pulled her up. They started to walk out of the portrait hand in hand. They ignored the glares coming from the crowd across the hall. They walked out to the lake. James stood at the shore and looked out over the water. Lily watched him uncertainly.

"What are you thinking about?" she whispered.

"I'm trying to recall what they looked like. My mom was always so overprotective of me. I hated it. I never listened to her, ever. I always tried to avoid her when I was home, and now, it's hard to remember what she looked like. My dad was always hard on me. Telling me to become a man and get a girlfriend. I never listened to him either. I was never in the same room as him when I could help it. Now more than ever, I regret not spending time with them. I wish that I could turn back the clock and redo everything, but I can't." Lily just stared at him, dumbfounded. She couldn't imagine life without her parents. They were always so good to her and loving. She could definitely imagine life without Petunia, but not her parents. Her heart ached for his grief.

"James… It's not your fault…" she said quietly.

"I know, but I can't help but think that if I spent more time with them, or did something different, that they might still be alive." Lily shook her head.

"There's nothing that you could have done differently to change the outcome. The only thing that would have changed is the amount of sadness you're feeling right now. This is Lord Voldemort's doing, not yours." James looked over at her and gave her a weak smile.

"I don't know what I would do without you. I really wish you could come with me," he said. A light smile played on her lips.

"I know. Same here, but the fact remains that we have to do this on our own now. So it's no use hoping that things will change," she said gently rubbing the length of his arm with her hand. He hugged her close to him. They started back to the common room. All of a sudden, Frank, Alice, Remus, Sirius and Nikki rushed up to them.

"Oh my God, James, I'm so sorry," Alice said.

"So sorry mate," Frank said.

"Me too," Sirius and Remus agreed. Nikki just stood there and looked at him sadly. Lily and James sat on the couch by the fire. Sirius, Frank and Alice sat on the couch across from them, Remus sat in the chair next to them, and Nikki sat on the floor, her back to the fire.

"Do you want us to go with you buddy?" Sirius asked. James nodded his head. Alice and Nikki looked from James to Lily.

"You guys can go with Lily if you want," James said to them. They both solemnly nodded their heads. He got up turned to Lily. "I'm going to go up and think for a few ok?" Lily nodded her head. He went up to the dorms, the three boys following him. Lily looked at her friends.

"Can you guys come with me?" Nikki and Alice nodded their heads.

"Poor James. I wanted to go with him instead of Petunia's wedding, but mom won't let me go. She want's me to share in my sister's happiness."

"I feel bad for him," Alice remarked quietly. Nikki nodded her head. They both looked at her.

"You're awful talkative today," Lily said.

"How can you successfully condole someone who has just lost their parents?" she reasoned. Lily and Alice though about it for a moment.

"Makes sense to me," Lily said. "I still can't shake the feeling that there is something more I can do though," she said.

"Trust me, there's nothing," Alice said. Lily stood and went up to the dorms. Alice and Nikki followed. Lily was at her bed, holding up the bridesmaid dress. She turned and made a face.

"I hate to be complaining given the current situation, but this dress is ugly!" Alice and Nikki smiled.

"Good thing we don't have to wear one of those," Alice said.

"I can always call up Petunia and order one for you," Lily said.

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

"Never mind." Lily smiled wickedly at Alice then put the dress back in the box. She turned and began to pack her trunk. Nikki and Alice did the same. They brought them down the stairs and dragged them out to the hall. They met James and the four boys there. James helped Lily with hers and Frank helped Alice. Remus offered to help Nikki, but she politely declined. They slowly made their way to the big oak doors and met Dumbledore there. He looked at James.

"I'm sorry about your parents," he said.

"Thank you sir," James replied.

"I wish you luck at your sister's wedding Miss Evans," he said with a wink.

"Thank you sir."

"Safe trip," he added before letting them through. They all boarded the train. James and Lily got a compartment to themselves. Lily was still trying to lift James' spirits, but so far it wasn't going too well. Frank and Alice snagged a compartment and was doing god knows what in there. Nikki, Sirius and Remus were sitting in a compartment together.

"Well, this ought to be fun," Sirius remarked. Nikki just looked out the window. Sirius looked over at Remus who just shrugged.

"You've been awful talkative haven't you?" he asked Nikki. She didn't respond. "Why aren't you talking!" Still she didn't reply. He threw his hands up in the air. "Fine then, I'll talk. You know Moony? I think that Cassie girl is just the girl for you. She's easy on the eyes, a good kisser and will believe anything you tell her. She is so perfect that the only girl that can compare with her is Mandy. Mandy is good, she's got a nice ass and her boobs are-"but her was cut off by a big green blob covering his mouth. "Wmph ma phunk?" he said. He tried to get the glob off his mouth, but when he couldn't he just glared at Nikki. "Kake nit onph," he said pointing to the blob. She lowered her wand and looked back out the window. Sirius stood and stormed out of the compartment.

In Lily and James' compartment

Lily sat close to James. His arm was around her shoulders. He just looked straight ahead.

"James…" she tried.

"You know, this will be the last time I see their faces. I can't even bring them to mind right now. I don't know what they look like." Lily looked sadly up at him. "I should have just listened to them, just spent time with them," he said slamming his fist against his knee. Lily gently put her hand over his fist. He looked down at her and his gaze softened.

"There's nothing that you could have done differently to change what happened."

"But, somehow, some little thing that makes it m fault," he said. Lily shook her head.

"You want to place the blame on you, but you didn't do anything wrong. You need to overcome that fact that you are not at fault here." James looked over her head and out the window at the trees whizzing by. He knew she was right. He didn't do anything wrong except be a horrible child, but then why did he have such a compelling feeling that it was his fault his parents died? He felt Lily rubbing his arm and hugged her closer to him. He rested his chin on the top of her head as she pressed her check to his chest. They stayed like that until Sirius opened the compartment door. There was this green blob covering his mouth, and he was trying to talk.

"What did you do now?" James groaned. Sirius' eyes widened.

"Ynoo phink I dib vif doo miphelph?" he said angrily. James sighed. Lily pointed her wand at his mouth and the blob disappeared. He sat across from them and just looked sadly at James. "I'm sorry about your parents mate," he said.

"Thanks," James replied. Just then, Alice and Frank came into the compartment. They sat next Sirius. The compartment fell silent.

"Where's Nikki and Remus?" Alice asked, breaking the silence. Lily frowned and looked around the compartment.

"Last I saw them, they were still in the compartment," Sirius said.

"Hmmm, I wonder what's going on in there," Lily said.

"I don't want to know," Sirius said. The compartment fell silent for the remainder of the ride.

In Remus and Nikki's compartment

Remus was looking at Nikki for a little while, trying to sort out what to say to her, if he should say anything at all.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said.

"Then stop looking at me," she said. Remus caught her eye in the reflection on the window. He looked down at his feet.

"Did Lily talk to you?"

"We're best friends. We talk all the time. Anything specific?"

"Well… I mean…"

"Yes?"

"Did she talk to you about me?" he asked looking down at his feet. Nikki didn't reply for what seemed like an eternity to Remus. She sighed.

"Yes."

"What did she say?" Remus asked looking up. Nikki turned to look at him.

"She told me that you were really sorry about what had happened."

"I am," he said.

"I know you are. And I meant it when I said that you were forgiven. I was just upset at the time, so it didn't sound like it."

"She told me to give you some time to heal." A light smile played on her lips.

"Sounds like something she would say."

"Sirius didn't mean what he said before. He was just trying to get a rise out of you. He actually kept telling me to break up with Cassie."

"I know, but, if given the choice, would you go back out with her?" Remus' mouth dropped.

"No way. You were right, she was a whore. I just am so sorry that I didn't stop her before." Nikki nodded her head and turned to look out the window. "I, um, actually wanted to ask you something," he said quietly looking down at his feet and wringing his hands. He could Nikki look at him in his peripheral vision.

"What?"

"Well, I know that this is kind of weird, and you probably still hate me and everything, but I was just wondering if there was a chance… you know, a slight possibility that… you might consider going out with me? I-I mean it doesn't have to right now, but maybe sometime in the near future?" he asked looking up. He saw Nikki evaluating him.

"How far is the near future?" she asked.

"I don't know," he said looking down at his feet again.

"Yes." Remus' head shot up. "As long as I'm not just some two week fling," she added. A smile spread across Remus' face as he shook his head. Nikki smiled at him. "So how far away is the near future did you say?" Remus laughed. They both stood.

"We should go see how James and Lily are holding up," he said. Nikki nodded her head and Remus slid his hand around her and opened the compartment door. Nikki stepped through it, but turned to Remus.

"Can we just keep this under wraps for a little bit?" Remus smiled.

"Sure, my thoughts exactly." They continued to the compartment door. Remus opened the door and everyone looked at them.

"Come join the party," Sirius said.

"So you both just got bored and decided to come here?" Alice asked.

"Actually we just decided that we should come see if James was ok," Remus said.

"I'm fine Moony," James said. Remus and Nikki sat next to James and Lily. They rode the rest of the way in silence. About an hour later, the train rolled to a stop. They all stood and filed off the train. Remus and Nikki stayed behind. Once everyone had left, Remus turned to Nikki.

"See you when we get back," he said. Nikki smiled.

"Can't wait," she replied. They both went off the train and met up with their friends. Lily and James were off to the side. James hugged her and held her close to him, then he drew back.

"Will you be alright?" Lily asked.

"I have my friends with me, so I'll be decent," he said.

"Are you sure?" she asked skeptically. James nodded his head. He hugged her one more time before following his three friends out of the platform. Lily turned to her friends.

"Ready?" she asked.

"As ready as we'll ever be," Alice said picking up her bags. Nikki followed suit. They met Lily's mother and sister at the car in the parking lot. Lily looked around and saw James' chauffeur driving off.

"Ew, you brought your friends with you!" she heard Petunia exclaim. "Now we'll have three freaks at my wedding! You should have told me, now I'll have to get them dresses."

"Don't bother, we packed our own," Alice said. Petunia pursed her lips at her.

"Fine!" She got in the front seat of the car and slammed the door. Lily, Alice and Nikki put their bags in the trunk. Then they all piled into the back of the car and drove off the Lily's house.

James

They were all piled in the back of the car. They were driven to the Potter Mansion where they all got out and went upstairs to James' room. Once he put his trunk down, he went out the door and into his parent's room. He sat on their bed and looked at their bureau. Right there was a picture taken when he was about five. Both his mom and his dad were smiling with himself in the middle. Sirius came in and sat next to him.

"I miss them too mate," he said quietly. James sighed.

"I never really spent time with them," he said.

"Me either." They both got up and James turned to close the door, looking into the empty room one last time. He went back into his room.

It was the day of the funeral. James was standing next to the two caskets. Sirius was on his left. They stood there, the room smelling strongly of flowers. Between shaking the people's hands and reciting his trained answer of 'thanks', he kept looking over to the caskets. He could imagine their pale faces beneath the thick wood. He could picture their faces, cold and still. It was hard to think that they weren't just sleeping there in the wooden box. Their clothes stiff and hard against their frozen bodies. Their chest, never rising and falling and their hearts never beating again. He turned back to the person in front of him and shook his hand. After about an hour, they were shooed out of the room and into a waiting limo. James and Sirius watched as the two caskets were wheeled into separate hearses. The two vehicles rolled out onto the street and the limo followed. They drove to the nearby cemetery. The hearses pulled up next to the grass and the limo stopped nearby. Everyone filed near the site where the caskets were to be put into the ground. The minister was there standing at the head of the caskets. He was saying something, but James didn't hear a word. His gaze was transfixed on the two caskets that held his parents bodies. All of a sudden, he felt Sirius' hand leading him away from the site. James looked around and noticed that everyone had already left. He sighed and went back to the limo. The chauffeur drove them back to the house. James trudged up to his room and sat on his bed. His friends slumped into the room after him. It was dead silent (no pun intended) in the room until Sirius perked up.

"Well, we all seem pretty down," he said.

"Nice observation Padfoot. Did the tooth fairy help you figure that out, or did you do it all by yourself?" Frank asked.

"Well, if you'd let me finish," Sirius said. "Anyways, James, do you know when Lily's sister wedding is?"

"Today," he answered.

"I meant do you know what time?"

"I don't know. Maybe around noon I guess," he answered.

"Well, it's 12:30 now. Maybe we could get there in time for the reception. After all, what could a little partying do?"

"I don't know if she'd want us there," Frank said.

"Lily? She'd love it if we came," Sirius said.

"He meant Petunia," Remus said.

"Who cares about her?"

"Well it is her wedding," Remus reasoned.

"You know Remus; you really know how to dis someone's idea really well. Can you teach me sometime?" Sirius asked him sarcastically.

"Hey, it wasn't only me. Frank started it."

"Let's just go. I need to see Lily," James said getting up from the bed.

"It's only been what? A couple days maybe?" Frank said.

"Didn't you hear the man? He needs to see Lily-Billy," Sirius said getting up.

"Well we need suits," Frank said.

"No we don't," Sirius said. "Let's just go as we are. It'll be fine."

"Ok then let's go," James said. He went out of the room and his friends followed him. They went down to the car, the chauffeur waiting for them. They all piled into the back seat and settled down for the drive.

Lily

Lily ran upstairs, Nikki and Alice following closely behind her. They had their trunks flying behind them. Petunia was standing in the hallway. She glared at them as they ran past. They all bounded into her room and waited. Then they heard Petunia scream as their trunks rushed past her and into Lily's room. All three burst out laughing. Petunia showed up at the door and glared at the three.

"What's wrong Petty?" Lily asked through fits of giggles.

"You almost killed me! Your stupid trunks almost ran me over," she screamed.

"Oh, don't want to ruin your lovely face for your wedding," Lily said, mocking a sad face.

"Shut up you little freak," she said.

"That's getting a little old, don't you think Petty? Time for you to come up with some new material now," Lily said sitting down on her bed.

"ARGH!" Petunia stormed from the room and they heard her slam her bedroom door. All three burst into a fit of giggles.

"I wonder what she's going to do to you during the wedding," Alice said.

"Nothing if she knows what's good for her," Lily said. She went over to the box and opened it again. She pulled out the dress and frowned at it.

"You're not really going to wear that are you?" Alice asked.

"I don't have a choice. I need to figure out hoe to put my hair. It is so going to clash with this color!" Nikki stood and took the dress. She held it against Lily and frowned.

"Let me take care of it," she said walking over to the corner and turning the dress over in her hands.

"What are you doing?" Lily asked.

"I'm going to fix it," she said without turning to face her. Lily's face dropped.

"You're going to do what! You can't do that! She'll kill me! I have to wear that dress," Lily said.

"It almost sounds like you want to make yourself look ugly by wearing it the way it is. Relax. You'll be wearing the dress, it'll just look… different," she said. She looked up and gave Lily and Alice a wicked smile. Lily sighed, but she couldn't help, but laugh.

"So, what exactly are you going to do to it?"

"Just put it on. Alice, blindfold her."

"What! No way! I want to see what you're doing to it," Lily said, backing away from them.

"C'mon Lils. I'm just doing a few fixer uppers," Nikki said.

"Fine." Lily mover back into the center of the room. Nikki closed the door and locked it. Lily put the dress on and let Alice blind fold her.

"You keep quiet," Nikki said to Alice. "And Lily, don't move." Lily stood still. She could feel things moving and every now and then, Alice would gasp. She could picture Nikki's determined gaze as she carefully lead her wand across the dress, making it look better on Lily. Then she felt Nikki taking it off her.

"Where are you going with that dress?" Lily asked, feeling around for Nikki.

"Relax Lils. Just one more… there. All done." She heard Alice gasp, then the dress slid over her head. She felt Alice and Nikki adjusting it on her and they lead her to something, stopping her. Alice removed the blind fold and Lily's eyes widened. She looked into the mirror. The dress was still the same length, but the ruffles were less pronounced, and instead of puffing out, the dress fell around her slim legs, just like a gown. The sleeves were no longer transparent, but instead were solid cloth. The neck was no longer high, but instead, it was lowered, making it a little shorted than a crew cut. She turned to look at the back and saw that it criss-crossed all down her back. The beast part however, was the fact that it was no longer a pinkish- orange, but now it was a dark emerald green, the same as her eyes. She turned to Nikki and hugged her.

"I love it! How did you do it?" She turned back to the mirror and turned, watching how the dress flowed.

"Just a little bit of magic. But you can't let your sister see until the wedding. Promise?" Lily nodded, then frowned.

"Why not?"

"Because she might come in and destroy it. Plus, I want to see the look on her face when she sees it," Nikki added with a smile. The three laughed. Lily took it off and put it back in the box. Then they heard Lily's mother call them down for dinner. They all filed in and met Petunia's glare with smiles.

"What are you up to?" she asked.

"Just so happy to see you Petty. That's all," Lily said. Petunia sneered at them.

"Just don't ruin my wedding," she said.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Lily said. Then they started to eat.

The day of the wedding had come. Lily got up to minutes before her alarm went off. She shut it off and went over the where Alice was sleeping. She shook her.

"Alice, get up!" Alice moaned and sat up, rubbing her eyes. Lily smiled at her and looked over at Nikki. She tip- toed over to her and shook her. Nikki moaned and buried herself deeper in the sleeping bag. Lily shook the lump.

"Leave me alone," she heard Nikki mumble.

"Get up! We need to get ready," Lily said.

"It's only Petunia's wedding," she heard from the sleeping bag.

"C'mon Nikki, If I have to get up, then you do too," Alice said.

"It's your fault for listening to her," Nikki said. Alice and Lily looked at each other and smiled. They went to the bottom of the bag and grabbed a corner. Then they lifted it above their heads and pulled. Nikki tumbled out and landed on her back. She sat up and glared at them.

"Damn you," she said. Alice and Lily laughed.

"Too bad we couldn't do that to you at school. It would be so much easier," Lily said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Nikki mumbled, pushing herself to her feet. She went over to her trunk and pulled out sweat pants and a t-shirt.

"What the hell are you doing?" Lily asked eyeing the clothes she had in her hands.

"I'm not wearing my dress to breakfast are you?" she asked. Lily went red.

"No of course not." Nikki smiled and shook her head. She went into the bathroom to take a quick shower. Lily took one after her, and Alice after her. Then they all went down to breakfast. There were three plates of pancakes on the table. They sat down and started to eat. Then Lily's mother came bustling in the room. Her dress was long and a dark pink color. It looked nice on her and really brought out her eyes. She eyed the three.

"Why aren't you three dressed yet?"

"We're going right now," Lily said standing up. Alice and Nikki followed suit and they went back up to Lily's room to get ready. Alice went into the bathroom to get changed. She came back out and Lily went in.

"Nikki? Can you do my hair?" Alice asked. Nikki nodded and Alice sat in the chair. Nikki set to work on Alice's hair. Lily came out halfway through it and sat on her bed, watching Nikki work. After Nikki was dome with Alice's hair, she did Alice's make-up. When she was done, Alice stood and admired herself in Lily's mirror. Her dress was floor length and had spaghetti straps. It was a light purple color with darker purple flower patterns on it. It fit Alice's curves nicely and didn't go too low, but was just right. Her hair was pulled back into a half ponytail, letting the rest fall lightly on her shoulders. Her brown eyes were rimmed with black eye-liner and the area around them was a light purple. Alice turned and smiled at Nikki. Lily walked over and sat in the chair.

"My turn." Nikki sighed and started on Lily's hair, Then she moved to Lily's make-up. When Nikki was done, Lily admired herself in the mirror. Her hair was up in a messy bun with pieces of tightly curled locks down to her shoulders. Her eyes were also rimmed with black eye-liner, but the area around them was a light green. Her cheeks were tinted red, and her full lips were blood red. Lily turned and smiled at Nikki, then she frowned, noticing Nikki's sweat pants and T-shirt still on.

"Can I get dressed now?" she asked. Alice and Lily turned a slight red.

"Sorry Nikki." Nikki laughed and grabbed her dress from on top of her trunk. She went into the bathroom. Alice and Lily sat on the bed and stared at the door waiting for her to come out. Time slowly passed. Lily turned to Alice.

"What is she doing in there?"

"I heard that," they heard from the bathroom. All of a sudden, Nikki came out. Her dress was a light blue halter dress, that came to just above her knees. Her hair was up in a clip, yet it still fell lightly on her neck. The area around her eyes was a light blue, and her lips were a light shade of pink. She smiled at them.

"What do you think?" she asked, looking down at her dress.

"Looks lovely. Now let's get a move on, before Petty gets her panty hoes in a bunch," Lily said. They all laughed and went from the room. When Lily came down the stairs, Petunia's face dropped.

"What the hell did you do to that dress?" she half-yelled.

"Nikki fixed it up for me," lily said with a smile. "Do you like it?"

"It looks horrible!"

"Well good thing you don't have to wear it then," Lily retorted. She went out the door and too the waiting limo. Petunia and her mother came afterwards. Nikki and Alice were being driven by her father. They got to the church and Nikki and Alice were lead to their seats. Lily was told to wait out back. She stood there, not knowing what to do, when she felt someone lock elbows with her.

"Hello Lily my sweet. We meet again," came the familiar gruff voice. Lily sighed and looked over at the man beside her. She looked up into his dark brown eyes. He was a year or so older that her, ad his dark brown hair fell into his eyes. He smiled down at her.

"What are you doing here Mike?" she asked.

"I'm assigned to be your escort down the isle," he said. Lily's mind flashed back to all those times he had asked her out. Mike had liked her for as long as she remembered, but all he wanted form her was sex.

"How much is Petunia paying you to do this?" she asked.

"I accepted free of charge," he said with a smile.

"I should have known she would have asked you," Lily said looking straight ahead. The music started and Lily's parents went out first, followed by all of petunia's friends. Then Lily and Mike went. Lily looked straight ahead.

"So, got a boyfriend?" she heard him whisper.

"Yes."

"Is he here?"

"Nope. He's at a funeral."

"Too bad." They passed Nikki and Alice who beamed at her. "Who're your two friends?"

"Nobody you need to know."

"I'd like to meet them."

"No. One of them already has a boyfriend."

"Fine then, how about the one who doesn't?"

"Just stay away from us," she hissed as they parted, reaching the end of the isle. He smiled at her, and she returned it with a glare. At the end of the ceremony, Lily met up with him again, as they followed her sister back down the isle.

"You know," she heard him whisper. "Someday, I'd like this to be you and me."

"Don't hold your breath Mike," she hissed. He just chuckled. They reached the end of the isle, and Lily waited for Alice and Nikki. Lily pulled Nikki aside and whispered in her ear. Alice leaned in to hear it.

"Stay away from him. He's trouble," she said. Nikki nodded. She followed Lily and Alice out the door. They all piled into the car with her father and they drove over to the hall for the reception. They walked into the room and were greeted by a splash of pink and orange. There were tabled filled with dishes and glasses. Lily led Alice and Nikki over to the corner and they started to talk quietly. People started to fill in around them and music started to play. Petunia and Vernon came later on and started to dance. Lily felt someone come up behind her. She turned and met the hungry gaze of Mike. She sighed.

"What do you want now Mike?"

"Want to dance?" She was about to say no when her mother, who had been standing right behind them, turned to face her.

"Why don't you dance honey? You've known Mike for years." Lily hid her grimace and weakly smiled up at him. He led her out onto the dance floor. He turned her in his arms and let his hands fall lightly on her lower back. She glared up at him.

"You planned that didn't you?" she hissed. He just laughed.

"It just worked out that way."

"Sure it did." He pressed her closer to his body, as his hands drifted lower. "Watch where you place your hands," she said. He just smiled down at her.

"A little touchy?"

"No, you're too touchy, now move your hands north please, and loosen your grip on me." She felt his hands shift back up to her back and loosened his grip. She pushed slightly away from him. Then his hands up her back and to her neck. "What are you-"but she was cut off by Mike crushing his lips against hers. She brought her hand up and slapped him. He pulled away and smiled at her. "What the fuck was that?" she hissed.

"You said move your hands up north, so I did," he said smiling.

"I have a freaking boyfriend!"

"So?"

"Never come near me again or I'll bloody kill you!" She stormed from the dance floor and went over to Nikki and Alice.

"What the hell was that Lily?" Alice asked.

"That was Mike kissing me Alice, now if you'll please drop the subject, maybe we can move on and forget this whole thing!" Alice and Nikki nodded and Lily leaned against the wall. She crossed her arms over her chest and she glared at Mike. Petunia stood and grabbed her bouquet. She went out to the middle of the dance floor and a group of girls gathered around her. Lily's mother came over to the three.

"Lily, go out there," she said tugging Lily from the wall. She pushed Lily into the group of screaming women. Lily glared at Nikki and Alice who were laughing. She heard Petunia count to three and saw the bouquet flying through the air. It hit the top of bouncing hands, but nobody caught it. Then it fell on Lily's head. Lily reached up and grabbed it, thinking about throwing it back up into the air, but the group had scattered and left Lily in the middle, holding the bouquet. Lily trudged over to Nikki and Alice.

"Trade anyone?" se asked hopefully. They both smiled and shook their heads. Lily sighed. "Great." Then Petunia sat in the chair, and Vernon kneeled in front of her. He reached up her gown and took off her garter. He stood and held it in the air. Petunia stood and was replaced by the men in the room. Vernon turned around and shot it in the air in back of him. A hand reached up and caught it. The men all scattered. The color in Lily's face drained when she saw who had it. Mike smiled at her. She felt Alice grab her arm as she heard Nikki gasp. Lily's mother pushed her to the middle of the floor and forced her into the waiting seat. Mike smiled maliciously at her and knelt down beside her. He grabbed the ankle of her leg and slipped the garter over her shoe. He then flipped her gown over his head ad took his sweet time getting the garter up the leg. Lily's face was bright red and she stared down in horror at what was happening. Mike hadn't gotten the garter up past her knee when a red faced James stormed onto the dance floor and ripped Mike from under her gown. He dragged Mike off the dance floor and out of the building. Alice and Nikki grabbed her and followed him out. They met Remus, Sirius and Frank at the doors. They walked out and saw that James was violently beating Mike. There was blood spurting from his nose. He had a scraped all over his face and looked half dead. Lily ran forward and grabbed James' fist in mid-air.

"James! Stop!" He glared at her.

"You're seeing him aren't you!" Lily shook her head.

"No! How could you think that?"

"I always knew that you would be the one to leave, not me. But cheating on me!"

"How dare you!"

"I can't believe you Lily! How could you cheat on me!"

"I wasn't cheating!"

"Then you're just going to let this… this… man whore do that to you, and expect me to be ok with it!" He glared at her. "You liked him doing that to you didn't you!" Lily shook her head in horror.

"How can you say that?"

"It's true isn't it!" he yelled. "If this is how you really are, then I don't want to be with you anymore," he said in a deadly voice. Lily turned and ran down the driveway.

"Lily," Nikki called out before running after her. Alice turned to James.

"You jerk. You have no idea what was going on before this. Now you've screwed things up," she said.

"You saw him. Lily was just soaking it in," Frank said. Alice rounded on him.

"She couldn't do anything else you idiot. It's a muggle custom that can't be over run. She had no choice!" she yelled.

"I can't believe you're taking her side," he said.

"She's my friend. I know what happened before this. I'm not the one jumping to conclusions. I can't believe that you don't believe her or me," Alice said.

"This isn't going to work then, me being with you," Frank said. Alice glared at him.

"Fine then." She stormed off after Nikki and Lily. James sighed and let Mike drop to the ground. He groaned. James just looked down at him and walked toward the car. His three friends followed and they started home. Tomorrow, they would be on their way back to school.

Lily burst into her room and fell on the bed. Her mascara was running, but she didn't care. James' voice ran through her head, and she couldn't forget what he had said to her. She felt Nikki lay a hand gently on her back.

"Everything's going to be alright. James just needs to cool down."

"But he said that I was cheating on him! How could he say that, never the less think it?" she asked through sobs. Nikki shook her head.

"Apparently they all think that," Alice said. The two looked at her. "Frank and I got into a fight. Let's just say that right now, I'm at the same stage Lily is at."

"I'm so sorry Alice. This is all my fault." Alice shook her head.

"No Lils, it's just the boys being themselves." Lily sat up and wiped her eyes.

"You're right. I won't dwell on it."

"That's the spirit Lils," Nikki said smiling. Lily smiled up at her. "This call for some hot chocolate and a hot bath," she added. Lily laughed. Alice and Nikki led her down to the kitchen. They made hot chocolate and set Lily up with a hot bath. Alice went in after her. Once they were all settled, they sat on Lily's bed.

"I'm tired," Nikki said yawing.

"Me too. We've had a full day," Lilt said stretching. They all laughed.

"School tomorrow," Alice said. They all nodded and settled down to bed.

Lily woke up with the sun in her eyes. She sat up and met the smiling face of Nikki. She was already dressed.

"Well this is a surprise," Lily said. Nikki laughed.

"Help getting Alice up?" Lily smiled at her. They both grabbed a corner of her sleeping bag and pulled. Alice tumbled out. She sat up and moaned.

"No fair! I didn't get any warning," she whined. Lily and Nikki laughed. Alice and Lily got dressed, went down for breakfast and her father drove them down to the station. They boarded the train and found an empty compartment. Lily and Alice sat next to the window and looked out it, not saying a word. Nikki sighed and stood.

"Where are you going?" Alice asked.

"To get some fresh air." She slipped out of the compartment and leaned back against the wall. She turned and started down the hall. She felt someone behind her. She turned and met the gentle gaze of Remus. She smiled.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey. How are James and Frank?"

"Ok. They're taking it hard though."

"You have no idea," Nikki said. Remus came toward her. "Do you think that they'll get back together?"

"It'll take some talking, but I think so." Remus put his hands around her waist.

"Um, Remus? I think it would be better if we maybe cooled it for a little, just so it will be easier to talk to them? You know, different sides of the spectrum?"

"What! We've only been going out for like three days. We've only seen each other for a couple of hours and you want to cool it!"

"No need to yell at me. I-I just thought it would be easier for us both," she said timidly. Remus took his hands from her waist and backed away.

"You're just like them aren't you?"

"I beg your pardon!"

"You're interested in someone else!"

"No!"

"Stop lying to me!"

"How dare you call me a liar," she said. She pushed past him and went into an empty compartment, slamming the door behind her. Remus came in. She held up a hand to stop him. "This isn't working right now."

"I was just going to say the same thing," he said. Nikki sighed and went out. She slipped into the compartment with Lily and Alice and sat down.

"I told James that I didn't want to be one of his whores," Lily said quietly. "And now, I feel like one."

"I told Frank the same thing," Alice said.

"You know, I told Remus that I didn't want to be a two week fling. It ended up being a six hour fling."

"You're not helping," lily said through her hands.

"It was worth a try." The compartment was silent for a few seconds.

"Wait, you and Remus?" Lily and Alice exclaimed together.

"I was, um, just kidding." They looked at her skeptically. "I'm going to go take a bath now," she said getting up and going out the door.

"On the train?" Nikki looked around.

"It could happen. There's got to be one hidden somewhere on here." She slipped out. Lily sighed and looked back out the window. She stood.

"I need to get some air," she said to Alice before leaving. She stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind her. She started to walk, feeling the ground rush faster beneath her. She felt someone behind her and turned around. She met James' hateful glare. She returned it.

"You," she said through gritted teeth. "What do you want?"

"Nothing. Just out for a stroll. Lovely to run into the same girl that told me she didn't want me to cheat on her or use her," he said. "Funny how some people are. You think that they're someone else, but then they turn out to be just what you thought."

"I thought you were different, but you're just the same selfish pig," she said through gritted teeth.

"Selfish because I won't share you with other men? Because I won't let you cheat on me! I never thought of you as a whore Evans, but I guess I was wrong." He suddenly felt her hand hard against his cheek. She glared at him before turning away with tears in her eyes and running down the hall.

* * *

Phoebe- So did you like it? Hate it? Let us know! 

Sadie- Poor Remus and Nikki. Do you think they will ever get a chance to go on a date? REVIEW!

Sadie and Phoebe


	8. Chapter 8

Sadie: Hey guys. Sorry, but this isn't a really exciting chapter.

Phoebe: We had to get them back together somehow.

Sadie: I know! But I had more fun writing the last chapter, you know chaos and panic. Disorder is my middle name!

Phoebe: I thought it was Madison

Sadie: It is!

Phoebe: Whatever. So, enjoy it. Hopefully we'll think of something better next time!

Sadie: I've already got it all planned out

Phoebe: You do? And when were you going to tell me about this?

Sadie: Uh, right now. I've got the next chapter planned out

Phoebe: Thanks for telling me. Anyway sorry for the long wait! We both had so much going on and you might need to wait a while for the next one to sorry!

Sadie: Enjoy!

Thanks to: cosmopolitan, harry-an-ginny, MioneJ.G., sarah365, IceAngel89, aznchic2009 for your reviwes!

* * *

Chapter 7: 

Lily ran into the compartment and flung herself onto the seat. She felt Alice put a hand on her back.

"What happened?"

"He called me a whore," she wailed.

"Oh my…" Alice said. She got up and started out of the compartment, but Lily grabbed her robe.

"No, don't. I'm ok," she said. Alice looked down at Lily skeptically. "Really!"

"Right, sure you are," she said. Nikki got up.

"I'll go," she said to Alice. Alice nodded and sat next to Lily and began comforting her. Nikki stepped out of the compartment and looked down the hall. She spotted James leaning his head against the glass of an empty compartment. She marched over to him and stood with her arms folded across her chest. He looked sideways at her and sighed.

"Is Lily ok?" he asked.

"If you ignore the tears and pain in her eyes, you can still pretend," she said.

"I didn't mean to hurt her."

"No, because calling someone a whore doesn't hurt at all," Nikki said sarcastically. "Actually, girls take it as a term of endearment."

"It wasn't supposed to come out like that."

"Oh really? How was it supposed to come out? Please tell me! I'm actually very interested to hear this."

"I just wanted to prove the point that I was mad ok?" he said turning to face her.

"Believe me James, we saw that when you were beating up Mike. You don't need to call someone a whore to explain that you are mad at them." James glared at her. Nikki sighed. "I give up," she said throwing her hands in the air. "You don't get it do you!"

"Oh I get alright. And now that I think of it, she is a whore." Nikki's eyes widened.

"Don't you ever call her that again!"

"Why not! She just sat there and took it all in. She probably liked him doing that to her. Trust me Nikki, I never thought she would cheat on me," he said. Just then, Remus, Sirius and Frank stepped out into the hallway, but neither Nikki nor James acknowledged them. Nikki's eyes filled with rage and James was tempted to take a step back.

"You have no clue what went on before that! Mike had come on to Lily for one thing. Do you know what that was? Sex James. She stayed far away from him."

"Was that before or after he was up her dress?"

"Petunia paid him to do that to her you fucking prick! She paid everyone off to make Lily's time there a living hell," she yelled in disbelief at what he said. "And it looks like it worked."

"I-I didn't…" James stammered. Nikki shook her head.

"Of course you didn't. All you do is jump to conclusions and break girls hearts, not caring about the effect. You all have a knack for doing that," Nikki said in a deadly voice. She looked over James' shoulder and glared at Remus and Frank, then returned to glare at James. "Petunia might as well have paid you too, for you certainly put the icing on the cake," she finished turning around. She started to walk away, but James caught her arm. She looked back at James' pleading eyes.

"Tell her that I'm sorry," he said softly.

"No."

"What! Why?"

"One it's not my place. Two, I doubt it would do you much good."

"So she doesn't want me back? She'll be looking for a new man," he said disgustedly. Nikki slapped him hard.

"You are such a fucking pig-headed asshole! All of you!"

"She's probably already moved on, so what does it matter?" he yelled. Again, Nikki slapped him, but harder, making him reel back.

"If you ever call her a whore, or treat her like one, I'll hex you until the Malfoy's stop hating muggle borns and half-bloods," she said in the deadliest voice he had ever heard from her. He looked into her eyes and saw the purest of hatred anyone could ever give. James cringed. She turned and continued down the hall. She turned into the compartment and slammed the door so hard that the glass shattered.

"**Repairo**," they heard and instantly, the glass was fixed. James looked wide eyed at the place Nikki had just been.

"Damn James! Did you see the look she gave you? I actually shuddered," Sirius exclaimed.

"Yes, believe me Padfoot. I saw it."

"Did you really call Lily a whore?" Remus asked. James nodded his head.

"Why the fuck did you do that!" Sirius yelled.

"Because I was a little pissed at the time Padfoot," James said through gritted teeth.

"Well you're going to have a hell of a time getting her back," Frank said. James sighed.

"I know."

Nikki stormed into the compartment and slammed the door. The glass shattered and crashed to the floor. She whipped out her wand and repaired the glass. Both Lily and Alice stared wide-eyed at her.

"What a fucking asshole! All of them! Lily, maybe he's not worth it," she said. Lily saw the rage in her eyes.

"What happened?"

"Let's just say that he's got one hell of a raw cheek and probably won't be coming near me anytime soon," she said.

"You slapped him! What ever for?" Lily shrieked.

"Because he called you a whore," Nikki said. Lily looked down at her hands.

"So he did mean it," she said.

"He just said that it wasn't supposed to come out like that, but… now he knows about Petunia and all of that," she said quietly. Lily looked up at her.

"What did he say to that?" Alice asked.

"He didn't say anything," Nikki said. A tear leaked out of Lily's eye. "Don't cry Lils. He's not worth it," Nikki said soothingly.

"I-I can't h-help it," she sobbed. "I was really hoping that it would work out between us!" Alice tried to comfort, but Lily just sobbed into her hands. Nikki sighed and stepped out into the hallway. Frank was just outside the door. She looked surprised, but then her gaze hardened.

"She's really taking it hard," he said quietly.

"Nice observation," Nikki said coldly.

"James really didn't mean to call her a whore."

"Then what exactly did he mean to call her? A slut maybe? How about a prostitute hmmm?" Frank shook his head.

"No…"

"Whatever. What do you want?"

"I, um…"

"Well? Spit it out."

"I wanted to talk to Alice," he said. Nikki eyed him suspiciously. She turned to the door and opened it. Both girls looked at Frank. Lily hid her tear stained face. Alice stood and walked out the door. Nikki went over to Lily and Alice closed the door behind her. She turned to Frank.

"What?"

"I, um wanted to talk to you," he said.

"About…"

"About earlier."

"Ok then, I'm listening," she said crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm sorry about not listening to you. I jumped to conclusions and I shouldn't have." He paused for a moment, trying to sort out what he should say next. "When Nikki told us about what Petunia did, I realized that you were right and I was wrong. I'm sorry about what I said about you cheating on me," he finished. He watched Alice's reaction.

"Ok," she said.

"Ok what?"

"Ok you're forgiven," she said shrugging. Frank smiled at her.

"Would you want to go back out with me?" he asked. She smiled at him and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.

"Of course," she said. Then she pulled back. "But let's maybe keep this under wraps. Just because Lily's taking this hard," she said. Frank nodded.

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Tell me one thing. How's James taking this?"

"He just looks out the window. I think he wants to go out Lily, but won't let himself do it."

"Why not?" Frank just shrugged.

"Got me." Alice frowned.

"Ok, thanks," she said. She pecked Frank on the lips and went back into the compartment. Both girls looked up at her.

"What did he want?" Lily asked.

"He wanted to know if you were ok," she said.

"And you said," Nikki pressed.

"That you were taking it hard."

"James is probably in his glory that he got to finally go out with Lily Evans," she said coldly. Alice shrugged.

"Maybe," she agreed. She sat across from Nikki and Lily and they spent the rest of the ride in silence. Once the train pulled into the station, the girls got off right away, wanting to avoid any contact with the four. Unfortunately, the boys were right behind them. Lily refused to look back at them, but Nikki resorted to exchanging glares with James, Sirius and Remus. Frank and Alice seemed to be mellower about the whole thing. Alice and Nikki led Lily to the dorms. She just sat on her bed, her eyes glassy.

"Lils, maybe we should get something to eat," Alice suggested.

"I'm not hungry," she replied.

"Lils," Nikki sighed hugging her friend. "He's ruining your life. Don't give him that satisfaction," she said. Lily just shook her head.

"I'm not hungry," she replied. Nikki and Alice shook their heads. Lily just sighed and went to the window. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as all the images of her dreams flashed through her mind. She imagined them being married and having a child, maybe a little boy. She could see his smiling face as they were announced for the first time as a married couple, and him holding their child. His lopsided grin and hazel eyes shinning with joy. She sniffed and impatiently wiped away the salty water. Then she saw a picture of what their children would look like. If it was a boy, he would have messy black hair, manly features, the same lop sided grin, like James, but her eyes. If it was a girl, she would have auburn hair and light green eyes. They would be beautiful, but most importantly, they would be hers and James' children. More tears poured down her cheeks as their little faces faded away. She dropped her head into her hands and her body wracked with sobs. She felt a hand on her shoulder and Alice's soothing voice.

"Lils, it's going to be ok. I just know it."

"But I wanted it to work so much. I want to be with James," she sobbed.

"I know," she heard Alice say.

"I-I don't know what to do now. I-I don't know whether to beg him or just forget him."

"Don't beg and don't forget." Lily took a deep breath and wiped away her tears.

"That's it. I've just become one of those girls that I hated so much. I should just give up on him," she said.

"No!" Alice suddenly said.

"Why not?" Lily asked a little confused. Alice looked down at her feet.

"Just don't ok?" she said.

"Well then what am I supposed to do?" Alice shrugged.

"Time always helps." Lily just looked back out the window.

Days had gone by and every day, James spent looking at the back of her head. Lily wasn't interested in her school work much, and was doodling on her paper. Nikki took frivolous notes, both for Lily and herself. Lily sighed as Professor McGonagall finished her lecture and told them their homework. Soon, class was dismissed. Lily stood and swung her bag onto her shoulder. Nikki and Alice followed her, but the professor stopped them.

"Miss Evans, I wanted to speak to you and your friends." Lily stopped and looked down at her feet.

"What's up?" Nikki asked.

"Well, I have noticed a change in two of you. Miss Evans seems to not care anymore, and you, Miss Summers seem to be working harder than ever to keep her up. Is anything wrong?"

"Just a rocky road right now. It'll get better," Lily said quietly. The professor stared at her skeptically.

"She's just a little… hard pressed," Nikki said. The professor looked at Nikki.

"You're working double overtime Miss Summers. You're going to kill yourself if you keep this up," she said.

"I'll get my act together professor," Lily said. She grabbed Nikki's arm and led her out of the room and into the hall. They all walked in to the dorm rooms where Lily seated herself in front of the window yet again.

"Lily," Nikki moaned. "You've got to start getting yourself together. I can't keep working like this."

"Then don't," Lily replied. Alice put a hand on Nikki's shoulder.

"I can help," she said. Nikki just shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. You let me take care of the work. You take care of her," she said nodding in Lily's direction.

"I can take care of myself," she said without looking at them.

"Oh yeah, that's evident," Nikki said sarcastically rolling her eyes.

"What do you know?" Lily yelled standing up and glaring at Nikki. "You keep your nose in the books and your eyes on the paper. You don't know anything."

"Kind of reminds me of you," Nikki said icily, then she walked toward the door.

"Excuse me! Don't you walk away from me!"

"I can do whatever I damn well please," Nikki said walking out through the door and slamming it shut. Lily and Alice followed her out. They didn't notice the four boys sitting by the fire.

"Get back here! I was talking to you," Lily yelled at Nikki's back. Lily stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Alice put a hand on her shoulder.

"Let her be," she said quietly. Nikki walked out of the portrait. Lily turned to face Alice.

"She's' right," she said with a sigh. Alice led her to the table.

"What are you going to do about it?" Lily shrugged.

"I just don't care anymore. I can't help it. Ever since…" she stopped as if choosing her words. Just then, Sirius sneezed. The two looked over at the four. Lily got up and ran up the stairs.

"Now you've done it Sirius," Frank hissed.

"I'm sorry," he whined. Alice just looked at James sadly before following her up the stairs. She walked into the room and found Lily sitting by the window again.

"I forgot that they were down there." Alice sighed.

"Why won't you two just talk things out? It would make things so much easier," Alice said.

"It's not that simple," Lily replied. Alice sighed and plopped down on the bed. She sighed again and closed her eyes. Lily stayed by the window for a few minutes and then looked over at Alice. She was asleep. She stood and went to the door. Nikki should have been back by now at least. The library would have closed a few minutes ago. She slowly crept down the stairs, first looking around the common room for anyone. She looked toward the table. Nikki was sitting there, an open book in front of her. She was frivolously writing. Lily walked over to her and looked over her shoulder. She was writing a potions essay. Two were already done in front of her. Lily sighed.

"What are you doing up? Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" Nikki asked without looking up or stopping.

"I should be asking you that question."

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to write three different essays on the same subject? I wouldn't recommend trying it," she said. Lily sighed. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier."

"No. I'm sorry. You were right. I just don't know how to deal with things any differently," she said sitting down next to Nikki. She finished a sentence and turned to face Lily.

"Me and Remus had begun to go out on the train. After you and James, Frank and Alice broke up, I asked him if we could cool it. He got mad and blew up at me. We broke up. You were so broken hearted, and I needed to be there for you, that I didn't have any time to be sad about breaking up with the very person I had like for so long. Now I'm doing a lot of bookwork and I have had to pull myself together. You on the other hand, are not doing bookwork and dwelling on him, which is fine and dandy, but at the same time…" se left the sentence hanging.

"I don't know what to do anymore. I really want to go back out with him, but he called me a whore, liar and a cheater."

"I don't know what to say, but just to let you know, I don't have a master plan to get you through your tests," Nikki said turning back to the essay. Lily sighed and went over to the fire. She stared into it. "By the way, when was the last time you ate?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"Have you looked in a mirror lately?" Lily looked down at her self. Her shirt hung very loosely on her shoulders and her pants were almost falling down. Lily sighed.

"Not hungry I guess." She stayed by the fire for a long time. She turned to go up the stairs. Just as she was about to go up them, she remembered Nikki. She turned to look at the table. Nikki was bent over her books and papers. She walked over to her.

"C'mon," she said.

"Arithmacy…" she said in a kind of dazed voice. "Up in an hour, or two." Lily tugged on her arm.

"No now," she said. Nikki sighed and closed the book. She went up the stairs with Lily and practically fainted once in her bed. Lily sighed and went to bed herself.

She woke up with the sun in her eyes. She sighed and went to the door and down the stairs. She looked over at the table and saw Nikki leaning over a pile of books. As she got closer, she saw that she was actually asleep. She tapped Nikki, who stirred awake.

"What are you doing down here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"When did you come back down?"

"After you fell asleep," she said with a smile.

"And you've been down here the whole time!"

"When other time am I going to finish all this work?" Nikki asked. Lily sighed. Nikki went back to work.

"Have you had anytime to yourself?" she asked.

"Why?"

"Just wondering. You lost someone too," she reminded her.

"Nope."

"Have you talked to him yet?"

"You're joking right?"

"No. I really want to know."

"Um, I've been a tad busy Lily. Besides, didn't we talk about this last night?"

"Right, I forgot." She went back up the stairs, got dressed and braided her hair. She went back down the stairs and Nikki was waiting for her.

"Ready for class," she asked. Lily grunted. Nikki handed her a stack of papers.

"What's this?"

"It's your homework," she said.

"All of it?"

"All of it."

"Nikki," she groaned.

"If you ruin it, I will hex you to oblivion. Do you know how long all of that took me!" The two walked out of the common room and met Alice in Transfurgation. Nikki sat down and got out her parchment and quill. Lily handed in the homework Nikki had done for her. She looked over at Nikki and saw how the dark circles under her eyes probably mirrored her own. As the professor started to talk, she dove back into her little world where she and James were married and had two little children. She had the strongest inclination to turn around and look at him. She hadn't looked at him since the train ride home. Each time, it was harder to fight off the inclination. Suddenly, Alice was tapping her on the shoulder. She looked at her.

"Time to go," she said. She nodded her head and got up.

"Miss Evans," she heard Professor McGonagall say. "Would you mind staying for a few extra minutes?" Alice went out past her. Nikki started out too, but the professor stopped her too. The four boys hadn't made it out yet and stood in to listen. James was staring at Lily.

"What is it professor?" Lily asked.

"Miss Evans, Professor Slughorn informed me that you used to be one of his best students, and now you're getting a 'P' in his class and mine. Even though you turn in all your homework, you fail all the tests." Lily looked at her feet. "Miss Summers, how much sleep did you get?"

"Enough," she said quietly, also looking down at her feet.

"I can't imagine when you do all that extra homework and notes everyday. Look at you two! You're nothing but skin and bones. You are beginning to alarm me," she said.

"Sorry professor," they both mumbled.

"What exactly is going on? And I want the truth this time."

"Just some rocky road professor," Lily said.

"Does it have anything to do with a certain black haired boy?" She asked. Both girls whipped their heads up and looked wide-eyed at her. She chuckled slightly. "I'm not as stupid as that ladies. I suggest that you pull yourself together though Miss Evans," she said before dismissing them. Once the girls left, she looked over at the four boys. They all stared dumbfounded at her. "Mr. Potter, Black, Longbottom, Lupin? What have you to say?"

"Why is this whole James thing affecting Nikki?" Remus asked, slightly annoyed.

"Miss Evans is falling apart. Miss Summers is trying to keep her up by doing all the work. That is why Mr. Lupin."

"Oh," Remus said looking down at his feet.

"A little dramatic don't you think?" Sirius asked. Professor McGonagall glared at him. "Have a nice day professor," Sirius said before rushing out the door. The other three followed him out.

Lily sat on her bed thinking. She knew that Nikki was spending her study period in the library, doing homework. Lily's homework. A wave of guilt washed over her as she thought of Nikki up all night trying to finish something she should have been doing herself. She fell backwards onto her pillow. Her thoughts turned to James. Just then, the door opened. Alice walked in.

"Still thinking about James?"

"How did you know?"

"Your eyes get all glassy and you frown."

"It's that obvious?"

"Yes. And so is the fact that he wants to go back out with you. It surprises me that you haven't seen it," she said. Lily just sighed.

"Going back out with Frank?"

"Maybe…"

"I knew it. You're too happy."

"So you're not totally detached from the world. There's hope for you yet."

"Shut up." She knew Alice was smiling. She looked over at Alice and found out that she was right. She sat up and started to the door.

"Hungry yet?" Alice said hopefully.

"Nope. Just going to visit Nikki and try to get her to stop."

"She's in the common room now. The library is closed. You should just go to bed. She's not going to stop." Lily went back to her bed and laid back down.

"I feel so guilty," she said tiredly.

"So do I. I've tried to help her, but she just doesn't talk." Lily stood back up and walked to the door. She ran down the stairs and spotted Nikki huddled over the books. Lily marched over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. Nikki turned and looked tiredly at her. Once she saw who it was, she returned back the book.

"What are you doing now?"

"Homework. Transfurgation essays."

"Stop," she said.

"No." Lily sighed.

"I feel so guilty that you're doing this to yourself just for me."

"Don't worry about it," she said. "Besides, if you think I look bad, take out a mirror."

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"Have you looked at yourself recently?"

"No."

"My point exactly." Lily grunted in defeat.

"Um… Lily?" She heard James say. Her eyes widened at his voice, then she set them as she turned to face him. She stayed where she was. He stood there and stared at her, just like he did every other time.

"What?" she asked.

"I, um, wanted to talk to you," he said in a trance.

"Oh, you actually want to talk to me? Well I guess that's just you. Always talking to whores," she sad in a deadly voice. His eyes lit with rage as he stiffened.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you as Lily Evans, but I guess that's just too much for you to handle." She started to walk back up the stairs. "I wasn't finished talking to you," he said in a low voice. Lily whirled around, her temper rising. Her eyes were a flash of dangerous emerald green. Her lips thinned as her eyes narrowed at him.

"Last time I recalled, you didn't control me," she said.

"Last time you used to do anything I said. Last time you used to worship me," he said.

"Last time, you called me a whore and a cheater. Last time, _you _played me, so don't you dare tell me what happened last time," she said.

"I never played you!"

"You made me believe that you cared about me! All you wanted was to shag Lily Evans!" she screamed.

"That's not why I went out with you! I went out with you because I knew that you would never cheat on me! I guess I was wrong."

"I never cheated on you!"

"No, you just had another man up your dress is all. What exactly would you call that!"

"A sick bastard that would stop at nothing to ruin my life! Kind of sounds like you," she said before turning and running back up the stairs. James sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He looked around the room and spotted Nikki. He went over and sat next to her. She moaned and dropped her head into her hands.

"Why can't you all just leave me out of this! I have a ton of work to do and not a whole lot of time to do it," she said through her hands.

"Sorry," mumbled James. "Can you help me though?"

"With what? Lily? Good luck with that one," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"And you four claim that you're smarter," she said. "Calling your girlfriend a whore pretty much ruins all chances of getting her back with a simple sorry. Especially Lily Evans." Nikki chuckled slightly. "You really screwed up," she said.

"I know," he said. "I shouldn't have said that to her."

"I trust you can guess my comment on that," she said.

"Something sarcastic and cheep," he said.

"At least I don't jump to conclusions and call my boyfriend a cheater," she said lazily.

"You have a boyfriend? I can't imagine who would want to go out with you," he teased.

"Low blow," she said. He chuckled. "So, what is your next move?"

"I don't know. Hey actually, could you get Lily back down here?"

"Um no."

"Why not!"

"Have you seen the amount of work I have left to do? Now get away from me. Go up to the dorms. I know that you know how to."

"What about Alice?"

"She's probably in the astronomy tower snogging Frank," she said carelessly getting back to work.

"I thought they broke up," he said puzzled.

"They did, then they got back together, only we're not supposed to know."

"Oh. Thanks."

"For what?"

"Talking to me?"

"Whatever."

"You two having fun?" they heard Lily ask. Nikki groaned.

"No Lily, I'm not finished yet, so leave me alone," Nikki said.

"Well guess what. I don't care if you are or aren't. You're going to bed now."

"Yes mom," she said, but didn't move or stop working.

"Lily, can I talk to you?"

"I thought we already did that, or don't you remember?" she said icily. James sighed.

"I want to talk to you civilized now."

"Whatever. What do you want now?"

"I wanted to say that I was sorry for calling you a whore and a cheater. Really I am! I guess I was just mad that I saw you with another guy."

"Well I'm glad that you feel that way, but calling someone a whore and a cheater is hitting below the belt, don't you think?"

"I know. I'm sorry. I mean it! I'm really truly sorry and I will do anything to get you back." James replied, on his knees begging in front of Lily. "I'll burn my broom, I'll throw Sirius's bear out the window, I'll even kiss Ms. Lillian." He pleaded.

"Fine then, you're forgiven." He walked toward her. "Wait so Ms. Lillian is real?" She asked trying to hold back a laugh.

"Will you go back out with me?" he asked walking closer to her, and ignoring the question. He looked her straight in the eye and he could see the internal conflict she was having with herself. "Pwease?" He watched as her face changed from longing to hurt, to angry, to sad. The display of emotions kept going. Soon he had pulled her into him and held her close. He gave her the puppy dog eyes. She laughed.

"Fine, but the next time you call me a whore, it's over. Do you understand?" James grinned and nodded. He leaned in to kiss her. She met him halfway. It felt so right. It felt so good to be in James' arms again. Lily smiled to herself. As they broke apart, James looked her over.

"What?"

"How about we get you something to eat," he said. Lily laughed. They turned and saw Nikki still working.

"Nikki, you can stop doing my homework now."

"Almost… done. Give me an hour or two. Actually the whole night. Go eat something."

"You need to eat too," Lily said indignantly.

"Just leave me alone ok?" she said. Lily sighed and looked up at James. "She's not going to stop." Lily explained.

"She's been doing that every night since we got back?" James asked frowning. They watched Nikki stand. She almost fell, but steadied herself on the chair. Lily turned to James and pecked him on the lips.

"I need to get her to bed and I'm dead tired. Sorry James, promise to eat more in the morning! Goodnight," she said with a smile.

"Sweet dreams," he replied, looking worried. Lily went over to Nikki.

"Ready for bed?"

"Just stretching."

"C'mon," Lily said tugging her toward the stairs. Nikki sat back down defiantly.

"Goodnight," she said stubbornly. Lily sighed and went upstairs sleep beginning to take over. James sat next to Nikki.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh honestly. Can't you two just leave me alone!" James smiled at her.

"Talk to Remus yet?"

"Of course not. Why would I?"

"Because you went out with him, and then you broke up," he said.

"He told you didn't he?"

"No, but he didn't have to. He really likes you, you know."

"I have work to do," she said.

"Then do it, but that won't stop me from talking to you." He smiled.

"Just leave me alone!" Nikki screamed in frustration.

"And if I don't?"

"Then you'll have another red handprint on your cheek. Beware," she said sarcastically.

"This time, I'm prepared though."

"Please. Just leave me alone. It probably wouldn't have worked out anyways."

"Is that what you tell yourself?"

"No, I haven't had to. I've been so busy with all this work. Now Lily's going to take it away from me and… just leave me alone."

"Fine." He got up and walked to the stairs and went up to bed with a smile on his face dreaming about his girl that he won back. Up in the girls dorm room, Lily was slipping on her pajamas when she began to feel dizzy. The next thing she saw was the ground catching up with her and then black.

* * *

Well review and tell us what you think! Sorry once again for the long wait and were not sure when the next one will be posted! 

Phoebe and Sadie


	9. Chapter 9

Sadie: Hey guys, sorry it took so long

Phoebe: Yeah, my computer was messed up. Stupid thing.

Sadie: Not my fault this time!

Phoebe: No little green monsters?

Sadie: Nope. I scared them away.

Phoebe: be sure to tell me all about it will you?

Sadie: only if you're _really_ nice to me…

Phoebe: Don't hold your breath.

* * *

Chapter 8: 

James was waiting patiently at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for Lily to come down for breakfast. He whistled to himself and looked around the common room, noting the way the sunlight played over the furniture. He looked back up the stairs, straining to see any movement at the top. All of a sudden, he was startled by someone next to him.

"Looking foe someone Prognsie?" Sirius asked innocently. James' breath caught, but once he registered who it was, he began to breathe again.

"Yeah. Lily," he said, looking back up the dorm stairs. Sirius looked up them too. They stayed silent for a few minutes before Sirius broke the silence.

"So where is she?"

"Up in the dorms."

"I know, but didn't you say you were meeting her?"

"No, I said I was waiting for her. She doesn't know that though."

"You're wasting your time." James looked over at him.

"What makes you say that?"

"Why she's still sleeping of course! Mandy told me that at our morning snogging session."

"But I thought you dumped her last week," he said in confusion.

"Its part of her therapeutic road to recovery over our breakup," he replied.

"Oh." Just then, a busty blonde walked down the stairs, her school skirt rolled up to show a little more leg. Both boys knew her quite well. She bounced over to James and cuddled up next to him. He took a step back.

"Why hello Cassie! You're looking lovely today," Sirius said looking her up and down. She looked up sweetly at James and slightly stuck her chest out more. James tried to keep his focus on her face, but had to look away instead.

"Is Lily still sleeping?" he asked her.

"Yeah. She cried herself to sleep lat night." James spun to look at her with wide eyes. He saw her look of mock sadness. "Poor thing. She didn't even make it to the bed. She landed on the floor in some distorted position," she said with a sweet smile. "Anyways, I'm here, so let's go eat. After all, we both know that you were meeting me this morning." She grabbed him and started to drag him to the portrait. James was surprised at the amount of strength she had. He struggled against her tugging, but she held fast to him. Just then, Alice stepped into the common room. She looked at the struggle James was having with Cassie. Frank was right behind her.

"Cassie. What are you doing?" Frank asked.

"Nothing. What would give you the absurd idea that I was doing anything?" she said still struggling to pull James out of the common room.

"Just the fact that you're trying to pull James out of the common room against his will. Here let me help," he said. He reached forward and unclasped her hand. She fell backwards onto her back. Alice began to laugh hysterically. Cassie glared at her.

"So Alice, how's your friend Nikki?" Alice stopped laughing and matched Cassie's glare. "I heard that Remus and her broke up. I told him she was a bitch," she said.

"Far from it," Alice said. James intervened.

"Alice. Cassie said that Lily's in trouble." Alice looked worriedly at him before racing up the stairs. The three boys went over to the bottom of the stairs and strained to see anything. They heard Alice talking frantically. All of a sudden, she came rushing down the stairs frantically waving her arms. Frank caught her and held her arms in his hands.

"Alice," he said calmly. "Alice! Calm down. Tell us what's wrong." She took a deep breath.

"Lily's passed out on the floor. I can't get her to wake up," she said frantically.

"What do you mean passed out?" James asked suddenly.

"Like dead, unconscious, not awake, not responding, on the floor, not moving. Does this make any sense to you!" James rushed up the stairs, but they fell out from underneath him. He slid back down.

"Shit!" He muttered a spell and the stairs reappeared. He raced up them and flung the door open. There, on the ground in front of him was Lily. Her red hair covered her face. One arm cradled her head, while the other was twisted to the side. James rushed to her. He swept the hair from her face and gasped at how pale her skin was. He touched her cheek and shuddered at the chill of it. He scooped Lily up in his arms and ran to the hospital wing.

"MADAME POMFERY!" he yelled. All of a sudden, she came out from behind a curtain glaring at him, but once she saw Lily, she ran over.

"Put her here," she said pushing him towards a bed. She touched Lily's hand and looked down gravely at her. She ran into her office and dropped some liquid into her mouth. She covered Lily with the bed sheets and returned to the student she was previously helping.

"Is she going to be alright?" he asked impatiently.

"She'll be fine, but I'm going to have a little chat with her when she wakes up. Now out with you," she said with her back to them.

"How long will she have to be here? What's wrong with her?" The patron finished with the student and started back to the office, but James followed. She turned to him and made a shooing motion.

"Out!" James looked one last time before allowing Frank to lead him out. He didn't know when they got there, but he didn't want to think about it now. Now all he wanted was for Lily to be ok. Eventually he ended up back in the common room. He was standing in front of the fire when Sirius pushed him into a chair. He glared up at him.

"What the bloody hell was that for!"

"Lighten up mate. You look like the bloody world was just blown up."

"Sorry," James mumbled.

"Maybe Madame Pomfrey will let us in later," Frank reasoned.

"Not a chance," Alice interjected. All three looked at her. "Madame Pomfrey was pissed! Lily's in for it."

"Why?" James asked.

"James, do you know why Lily passed out?"

"No…"

"But give him a kiss and I bet he could figure it out," Sirius piped up. James and Frank glared at him. James threw a pillow at his head.

"No offense James, but that's never going to happen."

"None taken. Now why did Lily pass out?"

"Right, didn't you realize her drop in weight while you two were separated?" James looked thoughtful for a moment. He stood and started for the door, but stopped and turned to face Alice.

"She's in there because of me?" he asked sadly. Alice looked at the ground. James turned and started toward the door again. The three followed him.

"James, Madame Pomfrey won't like this. She's going to hex you!" Sirius called out. James just kept walking. Down the hall way, they heard Lily yelling.

"YOU'RE GOING TO DO WHAT!"

"YOU HEARD ME YOUNG LADY!" The four ran down the hallway and James flung the doors wide open. Lily's face was bright red and so was the patron's. Both were standing about two inches from each others face and glaring.

"You'd think they'd be able to hear each other without yelling from that distance," Sirius muttered. When the doors opened, they both looked over. James went over and led Lily back several paces.

"Lily, calm down. Take a deep breath," he said soothingly.

"Nice to see you've got some color back though," Sirius said cheerfully. Lily rounded on him and pierced him with a death glare. Alice squeezed her eyes shut and slammed her palm to her forehead. Frank led Sirius from the room.

"Lily, Are you ok?" James asked.

"No I'm not! This… this…" Lily sputtered.

"I would be _very _careful with your words Miss. Evans," she said menacingly.

"She wants to shove food down my throat and weigh me everyday," Lily said exasperatedly, pointing at the patron.

"You passed out form lack of nutrition young lady! I'm making sure you gain more weight," she shot back.

"I can do it by myself!"

"My orders are ones that you will follow! No exceptions. You will come here at eight o'clock, at noon and at seven o'clock on the dot. You will be weighed and you will eat in the hospital wing for a month. Do you understand me!" Lily was about to protest, but James covered her mouth with his hand.

"Eight, noon and seven for a month," he repeated. The patron glared at Lily once more.

"You can go now, but I will see you at noon Miss Evans," she said as she turned to go. James let go of Lily and she whirled on him.

"What do you think you are doing!"

"Making you better. Besides, what were you going to do? Just sit here and fight a losing battle?"

"I'm not reporting here at any time," she said defiantly.

"I'll drag you then. C'mon Lils. It's only for a month."

"Do you know how long a month is! 30 days! Multiplied by three! That's 90 times I have to see her! I'm going to die!"

"How bad could it be?"

"You have no idea! When I woke up, there was an elf standing right over me. Then he screeched and she pounced on me! Like that," she snapped her fingers in his face.

"Just give her a chance," he said bring her hand down. "C'mon, let's go." He said wrapping his arm around her shoulder. He led her back to the common room. There, they met Sirius and Frank. Sirius was writing furiously on a piece of parchment. Once he saw them, he raced over to them.

"Lily-Billy! How are you dahlin'?"

"Get away from me," she said. He took a step back and beamed at her.

"I have a plan," he said.

"A plan for what?" James asked.

"A plan to get Remus and Nikki back together of course." He hands them the piece of parchment. It was a bunch of black swirls and scribbles. James and Lily looked down at it and frowned.

"Sirius, it's just a bunch of scribbles and random lines." He looked at it and frowned.

"That's because you have it upside-down silly!" James turned it, but the picture still remained a bunch of scribbles.

"Sirius, there's nothing legible written on this piece of parchment," Lily said sighed. He took it and scratched his head.

"Now I lost my image," he mumbled looking down at the parchment and walking back to is chair. Frank just shook his head. Lily looked around.

"Speaking of Remus and Nikki, where are those two?"

"Remus is probably in the library and I don't know where Nikki would be," Frank said.

"Probably in the library," Alice mumbled. Sirius jumped up and ran out of the room. The four looked curiously at him, but James just led Lily to the couch.

"Fifteen minutes and counting," Lily said.

"What are we counting down to?"

"My visit back to the hell whole, no thanks to you," she said glaring at James. He held his hands up in defense.

"Hey, it's good for you. Don't blame me."

"I blame you!" James just shrugged. He stood and held out his hands to help her up.

"Let's go," he said.

"Where are we going? I still have fourteen minutes left!"

"Maybe if we get there early, she'll get you over and done with," he reasoned. Lily sighed then took his hands and let him help her up. They both walked to the hospital wing.

In the library

Remus had a book in his hands, but he couldn't retain the information. He sighed and put it down and stood to stretch. He walked into the section next to him and began to scan the shelves for a book. He just made it to the end when someone grabbed him. He felt the person put restraints around his hands and feet. Then he began to levitate. He was pulled under an invisibility cloak and saw Sirius grinning at him.

"Sirius! What the bloody hell do you think-"but he was cut off when Sirius stuffed a sock in his mouth.

"Put a sock in it," he said with a grin.

"Murphurg?"

"An American chick said that to me when me and James went on vacation there," he said simply. Then he started to walk, with Remus reluctantly following behind him. Sirius went down a number of passageways and stopped in front of a closet door. He opened it and saw Nikki lying on the floor, also bound. Sirius pulled the cloak off of them and smiled down at her. She gave Sirius a death glare. She wriggled around, trying to break free of the rope around her. Sirius pointed his wand at Remus and lowered him into the closet next to her. Sirius then grabbed Remus' wand out of his pocket and placed two small boxes inside. He quickly Shot a spell at the rope around Remus' hands and slammed the door, locking it and enveloping both in semi darkness. Remus got the sock out of his mouth and untied his feet. He looked over at Nikki and undid the handkerchief used as a gag. She breathed in the air hungrily before muttering her thanks. The reached over her and quickly pulled at the rope at her hands. She then untied the rest of it.

"That bastard will wish he never had been born," she said in a low voice.

"Are you ok?" he asked. He could see her hazel eyes go to him.

"Fine," she said hugging her legs to her chest. "Did he take your wand too?" Remus nodded. "Damn him."

"No use insulting me sweets," they heard Sirius say through the door. Nikki jumped up and slammed her foot into the door. "Ouch!" they heard him wail!

"Nice hit. I bet his head was up against the door right there" Remus said slightly impressed.

"That would be my hope."

"My head," he moaned. Remus flashed her a grin which she returned. Remus got up and banged on the door.

"Sirius! Let us out!"

"No way! You two have to make up first," they heard though the door.

"Sirius ! I'm going to bloody murder you!" Nikki yelled. She went over to the far wall and rested her forehead against it. Remus looked around him and noticed the two boxes. He picked one up.

"Sirius, what is in these boxes?"

"Food, just in case you have to stay in there longer." Remus sighed and sat in the middle of the floor and Nikki sunk to the floor. Hours passed and Remus began to be hungry. He tossed Nikki a box and they both opened it. All of a sudden, a dark shadow came out of it. The one in front of Remus turned into a moon. He stared up at it in horror. All of a sudden, he heard Nikki scream. He spared a quick glance over to her and saw a huge dementor backing her into a corner. He looked back at the moon before running to the door and banging on it.

"Sirius! Get us out of here!"

"What's the matter?"

"You've locked us in here with two monsters and no wands!"

"Shoot! I gave you the wrong boxes," he heard Sirius mumble. "Don't worry, they're just boggarts," he yelled through the door. He looked back at Nikki and saw her terrified gaze as she had her back to the wall. The dementor kept coming towards her. Remus turned back tot eh door and banged on it.

"It's going to give her the kiss! Damn it Sirius let us out!"

"Awww, it likes her," he said sweetly. Remus turned and tried to run to Nikki, but the moon came in between him and her. He stared up at it and shuddered. He looked quickly over at Nikki and could no longer see her as the dementor had fully closed the gap between them. He heard her shriek in terror as the dementor swooped toward her. All of a sudden, the door was busted open and James and Frank strode in. Frank pointed his wand at the moon hovering above Remus.

"Ridiculous," Frank shouted. The moon turned into a balloon and went back into the box. Remus breathed in a sigh of relief. He heard Nikki scream as she watched the demenetor get closer, and then he heard James shout the spell. The dementor turned into a paper airplane and hit the wall next to Nikki's head. Remus ran to her and bent next to her, bringing her to his chest. She clung to his robes and was shaking uncontrollably as tears leaked from her wide eyes. He gently rubbed her back, but she still wouldn't stop shaking. Sirius stepped into the closet and whistled.

"Wow. That really got her," he said. Remus glared at him over Nikki's head. He looked down at Nikki.

"I-It t-tried t-to k-kiss m-m-me," she stammered out. Remus hugged her to him again. Lily and Alice ran into the room.

"Merlin," Lily mumbled. She went over to Nikki and felt Nikki trembling. Lily turned to Sirius.

"What the fuck did you do to her!"

"N-nothing. I just, you know, locked her and Remus in here with a couple of boggarts. To get them back together," he said backing away. "I showed you the plan remember?"

"Sirius I'll kill you! She's deathly afraid of dementors you moron! Do you know what would have happened!" Lily went back over to Nikki. Remus handed her over to Lily. Alice was there trying to get her to stop trembling. Finally, Nikki stood, but shakily. Lily and Alice led her from the closet, both supporting her.

"Looks like it worked," Sirius said smiling. "Did you see the way she clung to you?" Remus started towards him, but Frank and James stopped him.

"If anything, it widened the gap! She'll never come near me again!" Sirius shrugged.

"On to Plan B then," he said. Remus tried to tear from James' and Frank's grip, but failed. Sirius ran from the room. He saw Lily and Alice leading Nikki to the hospital wing and smiled to himself. The common room would be his.

The three arrived at the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey smiled at Lily.

"Just in time Miss. Evans."

"Oh no," she moaned. "I forgot about you." She brought Nikki over to a bed. Madame Pomfrey frowned at Nikki and touched her hand. She felt Nikki trembling.

"What's' wrong dear?"

"Sirius locked her in the closet with a boggart."

"That's no so bad as this," she said. "It shouldn't make her trembling this much."

"It turned into a dementor and was just about to kiss her when James and Frank burst in."

"Oh," she said with a concerned look at Nikki. "Here then." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar. She broke off a piece and gave it to Nikki to eat. Nikki took a bite and started to relax. Madame Pomfrey smiled at Lily. "Now for you, my dear." She brought over a tray of food for Lily. Lily sat on a bed and started to eat. "Every bite," the patron said. She looked over at Nikki and smiled at her.

"I don't see why Nikki doesn't have to do this," Lily muttered. Nikki glared at her.

"Fast metabolism," she said quickly to the patron. The patron studied her for a moment before turning away.

"That's not fair. She doesn't eat or sleep," Lily yelled out. The patron whirled on Nikki.

"I go down to the kitchens all the time, trust me! Also, Lily, where do you think I disappear all the time? I go to the astronomy tower so I can think. Usually I fall asleep." The patron turned and looked at Lily. Behind her, Nikki stuck out her tongue.

"Did you see that! She just stuck her tongue out at me!" Lily said pointing to Nikki.

"Miss. Evans, stop trying to get your friend in trouble with you and eat up! I haven't all day you know!" With that, she walked away.

"I can't believe you just lied to her!" Lily said to Nikki.

"I can't believe you hung me out to dry like that! You weren't supposed to tell anyone!"

"Soon enough they'll all know when you pass out!"

"Not going to happen." Lily speared a dumpling and shoved it in her mouth. All of a sudden, James walked in. Lily choked trying to swallow it. Nikki tried to stifle her laugh. Alice jumped up and blocked Lily from James so Lily could recover. Lily noticed that she too was trying not to laugh at her. Lily finally got the dumpling down her throat and Alice moved out of the way.

"Why hello James," Nikki said casually. James smiled at her and nodded his head. He went over to Lily and kissed her on the forehead.

"I went to the dorms to see if you were trying to skip your dinner, but I guess you came here of your own will."

"Not exactly. We brought Nikki here and I got trapped." James looked over at Nikki who smiled and waved at Lily. Lily glared at her.

"Looks like your doing great. Just a couple more bites and then you get weighed and we're done," he said cheerily.

"Sounds fun," Nikki said. "And how long do we have to do this for?" Lily glared at her.

"A month," Alice answered. Nikki smiled at Lily.

"Oh shut it," Lily said. Nikki looked offended.

"I didn't even say anything," she said.

"But you were thinking it."

"So now you can read minds? Please tell me, what am I thinking of right now."

"How sorry you'll be if you don't leave right now," Lily said in a low voice.

"Wow! That's exactly it! How do you do it?"

"There's not much up there anyways. I guess it was just a lucky guess."

"Oooooo," Nikki said. "That one stung." All three laughed.

"Well… I can see you're in good hands." James stood up. "I'll catch you later Lils," he said. She smiled up at him.

"Ok, see you later." The trio watched him walk from the room.

"You seem a little tense around him Lils," Nikki observed. Lily looked shocked.

"Not much up there, yet a smart observation. Where does it come from?"

"Cute," she said.

"No but really Lils. What's up with you and him?" Alice asked. Lily sighed.

"How can I be comfortable around him when he called me a whore and a liar?" Alice moaned.

"I thought we've been over this!"

"Well? What do you want me to say!" She looked sweetly up at a pretend James and raised her voice into a high, yet sweet pitch. "Oh James, even though you called me a whore, cheater and a liar, I'll totally invite you back with open arms, just like any of your other whores would do." She looked over to Alice and Nikki. Alice sighed.

"We get your point," she said wearily. The patron was marching over to them. Lily looked down at her tray and quickly scooped up the rest of her food and shoveled it into her mouth. The patron looked down at her and took her empty tray. Lily swallowed as quickly as she could and followed the patron over to the scale. She wrote down a number and told Lily the she could go. On the way back, they saw Professor McGonagall stomping past them muttering about wizard's mistletoe.

While the girls were in the hospital wing

Sirius was up against the painting. Students would try to get in, but he'd tell them that Filch was airing out the dorm due to a _totally anonyms_ dung bomb explosion. They stayed away for a long time. He was looking down the hall for any sign of either Remus or Nikki, but there had been none. All of a sudden, he heard the familiar clicking of heels. He slowly turned his head and looked in horror at Professor McGonagall. She was headed for him. He jumped up as she stopped just in front of him.

"What is this I hear about a dung bomb Mr. Black?"

"Nothing Professor." She tried to push him aside. "You don't want to go in there. You might faint or something," he said quickly.

"Then you can call for help, now move aside Mr. Black. Truffle Tops," she said. The painting swung open. She sniffed the air. "Looks like its all clear to me," she said. "Good," Sirius said. "All clear."

"I'd better check anyways."

"NO!" She stepped around Sirius, but he got in front of the painting to stop her. "I'll check it out," he said.

"No need to Mr. Black. I'm right here," she said. He started to back up, toward the common room, trying to reason with the professor. Suddenly, he fell and rolled on to the floor. He stood up and saw the Professor about to step down.

"Don't st-"but she already stepped into the common room. "-ep down," he finished. All of a sudden, a blue bubble formed around them. She walked over to it and touched it. It was solid.

"What is the meaning of this Mr. Black?" Sirius smiled sheepishly at her. He pointed up at her. She looked up and her face visibly paled. Directly above the bubble was wizard's mistletoe. Once a male and a female step under it, a bubble forms around them and they can't get out until they kiss. The professor glared at him.

"What is the meaning of this Mr. Black?" He grinned sheepishly at her.

"Well… Professor… I, um, can explain this whole thing… kind of," he said.

"You had better. Well? I'm waiting," she said tapping her foot on the ground, her hands plastered to her hips.

"I was just wondering, is your face stuck in a frown? Because ever you look at me, it's like that."

"This is hardly the time for you to be making comments about my face Mr. Black," she said in a low voice. "Now explain yourself." Sirius took a deep breath.

"Well, it was supposed to trap Remus and Nikki so they would have to get back together, but, um… I guess it caught the wrong people," he replied nervously laughing.

"I don't find any of this funny! Two months worth of detention!" Sirius perked up.

"Yes, two months closer to my personal record!" the professor shook her head and sighed.

"Now we'll have to wait until someone breaks us out of here. We are currently blocking the way into the common room." Sirius sat on the floor and looked around. About a half an hour passed and the professor threw her hands up in the air.

"I don't have the time for this!" Sirius looked up at her.

"Got any better ideas?" he asked. She glared down at him.

"I'd advise you to keep your lips sealed Mr. Black," she said menacingly. Sirius stood up.

"There's only one way out of this," he said gravely. She looked shocked at him.

"I don't think so Mr. Black." He shrugged.

"Personally, I don't want to be here for the next couple of days." She looked horrified for a moment.

"Fine." Sirius made a disgusted face.

"Great, I'm about to kiss the Crypt Keeper. Of all people!" he moaned.

"I beg your pardon!" He shrugged and leaned forward, squeezing his eyes shut. All of a sudden, remus came down the dorm room stairs. He stopped in his tracks the moment he saw the bubble and the two people inside it. The professor rounded on him.

"Mr. Lupin, it would be greatly appreciated it you found a way to release us," she said. Sirius opened his eyes and jumped back form her.

"Hey Moony," he said turning bright red. Remus pulled out his wand, trying extremely hard not to laugh. He mumbled an incantation and the bubble disappeared. Both Sirius and the professor sighed with relief. She used her wand to remove the mistletoe before leaving the room. The moment she was gone, Remus burst out laughing. Sirius whirled on him.

"I can't believe you almost kissed Professor McGonagall," he said through fits of laughter. Sirius scowled at him.

"It's not like we were going to get out any other way," he mumbled.

"Just curious, what were you doing?"

"That, my friend was Plan B," he said. Remus stopped laughing. Sirius smiled at him. "Now, I have Plan C."

"No Sirius! No way! Just stop right there!"

"No! You two need to get back together."

"On our own time," he said.

"Let's just think of me as a time machine then and speed things up. I mean at this rate, Lily and James will be having their twentieth kid and then you two will get back together," he replied.

"Just leave it alone Sirius, or I'll tell everyone that you tried to kiss Professor McGonagall." Sirius' face dropped in horror.

"No! I'll never get another girl ever! I'll die, but then there are those girls who think something like that is totally hot," he said recovering.

"Yeah, like Liza Macabre," Remus said disgustedly. Sirius shuddered.

"Remember when she had that thing for you? When she found out you liked Nikki, she almost killed her!"

"I know, but I stopped her before she dropped that weight on her head. Do you think Nikki ever knew about that?"

"Probably not," he said shrugging.

"She does now," they heard Lily say behind them. Nikki had her arms crossed and was glaring at the two boys.

"How considerate of you to let me know someone was trying to kill me. Anything else I should be worrying about?" she asked. Remus shook his head. "I see." Lily walked over to the fire and Alice and Nikki followed her.

"Sirius, why was the common room blocked for so long?"

"Why are you asking me? What makes you think I did anything wrong? I see, something goes wrong and it's all of a sudden all Sirius' fault!" he whined.

"Because Professor McGonagall stormed off muttering something about you and wizards Mistletoe." Remus started to laugh and Sirius' face turned bright red.

"Wow Sirius, who knew you had a thing for older women," Alice teased.

"She tried to kiss me," he said.

"Sure she did," Nikki said. "Is that how it all happened?"

"She came on to me! That lady is not all there up north," he said pointing to his head. Remus laughed harder.

"_She's _not all there! Last time I recall, you were the one with the puckered lips," Remus mumbled. Sirius' face paled.

"You said you weren't going to tell!"

"No, I threatened if you went through with another of your plans, but I know that your going to carry them out anyways, so what does it matter."

"Ewww," Lily said by the fire. She shuddered as images conjured themselves in her head.

"Hey, it's not my fault that we were stuck there! It was supposed to trap Nikki and Remus," he said indignantly. Nikki marched over to him.

"No more plans," she said menacingly. She poked her finger hard into his chest. "Last time, you almost got us killed! Just leave us alone!" Sirius shrunk away from her. She started to walk away from the group and out toward the painting. She walked out, then came back in. They all looked over to her. "Remus, Liza Macabre wants to talk to you," she said. Remus' face drained. Nikki walked out of the painting and went down the hall. Remus followed her out of the painting and was met by the tall black haired, creepy girl everyone knew as Liza Macabre.

Back in the common room.

Sirius rubbed the spot Nikki's finger had poked him.

"That's going to leave a mark," he said. Lily and Alice laughed.

"I would leave her alone you know," Lily warned. Sirius puffed up his chest and marched over to them.

"What can she do to me! She's only a girl." They laughed again.

"If I remember correctly, the score was about a million to one. Remember your war?" Sirius' face lit up.

"Oh yeah! I totally forgot about that! This is perfect! I can prank her _and _get her and Remus back together!" Lily shook her head. Sirius turned and began to pace, his face screwed up in concentration.

"What are you doing!"

"I've got it!" he said pointing his finger in the air.

"Got what?" Alice asked.

"Plan C," he exclaimed. "A love potion is the perfect way. Once she's had a whole day of being all lovey-dovey with Remus, she'll realize that she actually wants to be back with him!"

"I think that they need to talk things out," Lily said, turning to face him.

"Who needs talking? Usually I just let my hands do all the talking and girls are perfectly fine with that." Lily and Alice looked disgustedly at him.

"Sirius!" Lily said in disbelief.

"I can't believe you just said that!"

"What's wrong with what I said! It's perfectly true!" Lily shook her head.

"Why won't you just leave them alone to work things out?"

"Because their taking too long," he whined.

"What does that have to do with you!" he looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Nothing I guess," he said. "But come on! It's such a good idea!" Lily shook her head and went up the stairs. Alice followed. Lily flopped down on her bed.

"What's up?" Alice asked closing the door behind her.

"I don't know. I just don't know anymore," she said looking up at the ceiling.

"I would have settled for the ceiling, but oh well." Lily glared at her. Alice sighed. "Don't know about what?"

"About what I want?"

"What the hell are you talking about!"

"Oh Alice!" Lily sat up frustrated. "I don't know what I want from James." Alice sighed and sat on the bed across from her.

"Lily, I…you… I still have no idea what you're talking about." Lily groaned and stood. She began pacing about the room.

"I don't know if I want him to be like it was before we had this… this… thing happen, or if I want him to back off. I don't know if I should be mad at him, or happy, or careful, or what." She fell back onto her bed, again looking up at the ceiling.

"Sounds like you got a lot going on up there," Alice remarked.

"You're not helping!"

"Well what do you want me to say! Fine I'll say something. Go back to James! I mean, yeah, he screwed up, but he had just lost his parents and then he sees you with a man up your dress! Granted it's not like you wanted it to happen, I mean he wasn't even supposed to _be _there, but the fact remains, things were taken out of perspective! Just chill out and let things run their course!" Lily sighed.

"It's not that easy Alice!"

"Hey, you wanted me to say something, now I have."

"Well I wish you would say something useful!"

"Oh no you didn't just say that!" Alice stood up. "Hey, at least I gave advice, or at least attempted to. You could do something useful about this you know." Lily sat up and glared at her.

"Well what should I do oh one of infinite wisdom?" she said sarcastically. Alice threw her hands up in the air.

"Lily, I am so sick and tired of your shit! Just shut the fuck up ok!" Lily's mouth dropped.

"What are you saying!"

"You're sitting here bitching and moaning about James, and yet, you refuse to do anything about it! When people, ahem, your friends try to help you, you shoot them down! What the hell has gotten into you!"

"I could ask you the same thing!"

"Yeah, well this is what happens when you push people to their limits. Trust me, I know you've never seen me like this, but if you don't get your act back together, I'm going to ask Sirius for some of his plan ideas," she threatened. Lily drew in a sharp breath.

"You wouldn't!"

"Oh yeah! Try me. I dare you!" Alice's gaze was hard. Lily fell back onto the bed.

"You're serious," she said exasperatedly.

"Nice observation," she said.

"I can't believe you just threatened me!"

"And it felt good too," she replied.

"So what do I do?"

"Like I said, or weren't you listening? Relax and let it flow. Act as you would normally and for God's sake stop analyzing everything!" Lily looked over at her.

"I do not analyze everything."

Alice mimicked Lily. "Should I be careful, or angry, or happy, or what?" she looked over at Lily and her voice returned to normal. "You're taking everything you do and everything he's doing and analyzing it. You constantly wonder what something means and you want to make sure that you're not setting yourself up again. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. That's what I did with Frank and look at me," she said. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, you're just the person I want to be," she mumbled.

"Excuse me!" Alice said putting her hands on her hips.

"But you and Frank are different."

"Oh please. We are the same. One boy, one girl, both attracted to each other and both had problems. The only difference is that I'm not dense like you and understand the different circumstances of both sides." Lily looked up at her.

"So I'm just supposed to walk right up to him and say. 'James, take me. I'm yours!'"

"That's not what I said and you know it."

"Well then, how do I act with him?" Alice sighed.

"I don't know, just don't be all hesitant and distant and all. I can see it in your eyes Lils. You want to be close to him like you were before, but you don't want to set yourself up again. Life is full of risks. You have no life if you don't take chances."

"So you're telling me that I need a life huh?" Lily asked raising an eyebrow. Alice continued.

"Besides, chances are he wouldn't hurt you again, I mean come on. It's James."

"But that's the reason why I'm so careful. He's always messing things up."

"Aww, don't you think that's so cute? You walk in the room and he fumbles over himself."

"It's not fumbling when another girl is on top of him," she said glaring at Alice.

"Oh, well… he's a guy. What did you expect?" Lily sighed.

"I don't know. I guess you're right. Maybe I should just relax." Alice smiled.

"That's the spirit."

"But I can't help but think…" Alice smacked her forehead.

"And I thought I had gotten through to you. But alas, you're _the_ Lily Evans."

"Hey!" Alice looked at her.

"How about we pretend that we ended the conversation with the words 'You're right,' ok?" She turned and flopped down on her bed.

"But wouldn't you be cautious?" Lily called out to her.

"I've found out your problem," she said.

"What!" lily asked eagerly.

"There's got to be a problem with the connection," she said.

"What connection?"

"The one between your ears and your brain. Obviously nothing I said stuck." Alice sat up. Lily glared at her.

"No really Alice! Wouldn't you be cautious?" Alice stood and went to the door. She turned to face Lily.

"No I wouldn't be. You know why? Because last time, he saw how hurt I was because of the things he said to me. I know that he never wants to see that happen again, so no, I wouldn't. I trust him, and he knows that." She went form the room and left a speechless Lily staring at the spot Alice had just disappeared from.

"Why didn't she just say that?" Lily said to the silence. "I get that!" She stood and went from the room. She reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Alice talking to Frank by the fire. She watched them kiss, then Alice laughed at something. She heard the painting swing open and saw a sullen Remus walk in. He walked over to the seating area and sat in the corner of the couch Nikki usually curled up with her book. She noticed Sirius in the corner, writing on a piece of paper. A distant thought appealed to her that it just might be homework, but she smirked at the idea and it was instantly whipped away.

"What are you smirking at?" came James' voice. She looked toward the painting and saw James walking toward her. She smiled lightly.

"I had the craziest idea that Sirius might have been doing homework over there." James looked over at him before laughing.

"How long did you hold on to it?"

"Less than .1 seconds," she replied. He held out his hand and she slipped hers into it.

"Want to go for a walk?"

"Sure." He led her through the painting, and then they ended up walking along the lake shore, the sun shining down on them.

"Lily," James said, breaking the silence that he formed. Lily looked up form her shoes and looked over at him.

"What?"

"I can't help but feel like you don't want to go out with me anymore." Lily thought she felt her face pale, but she hoped that James hadn't noticed. Her heart stopped for a second and she held her breath. Her mind processed what he had said to her. She shook her head.

"What on earth gave you that idea?" she asked looking out in the water, here eyes flitting around nervously.

"Just the fact that you seem distant and don't want to spend time with me. The way you don't look at me and the way that everything you say to me, the way you act is all fake and… it's like you don't trust me and you just want to end." Lily looked down at her shoes.

"Well James, you did call me a cheater and a whore." He sighed next to her.

"I know, but I'm sorry. Please forgive me!" Lily shook her head.

"No, it's me that should be apologizing," she said. She saw him looked at her strangely from her peripheral vision. "Don't look at me like that," she said. His gaze softened. She looked at him.

"I don't understand," he said.

"You had just lost your parents. I should have known that you would have taken what you saw hard. I should have been more understanding. I made this whole thing about me and… oh, I hate to admit it, but Alice was absolutely right! I kept analyzing everything and was taking so many precautions so that I wouldn't get hurt again, but instead I just hurt you. I do want to be with you James. Really I do. I'm sorry that I made you think otherwise. Will you forgive me?" He looked confused for a moment before smiling down at her.

"Yeah, as long as you forgive me." Lily nodded her head.

"I already have. I just haven't shown it much lately." He laughed and drew her in close to him. She rested her head against his chest and sighed.

* * *

Okay so its been a while and I know we said the next chapter would be up soon, but teachers love to give projects out just at the end of the year! So yeah! And my computer crashed. Sorry for the long wait! 

Phoebe

Also I'm leaving for a week so I won't be able to work on the story! And Phoebe heads to Florida soon, so we will try to get the next one up but can't promise! If it's not up this month then sometime around July 10th the next chapter will be up! Depending on work hours for both of us.

Saide


	10. Chapter 10

So sorry for the late update but when you have one person working 7 days a week and another working 2 jobs it can be a handfull! So we made a long chapter for our readers (if we still have readers) to enjoy! Hope you have had a good summer!

Phoebe and Sadie

Chapter 9:

Sirius was staring meticulously at the cup in front of him. He peered down into the depth of the orange juice inside. It didn't look any different from regular pumpkin juice. Did he really put the potion in? Did he put enough in? He took out the bottle and looked at it. He was only supposed to put a drop in, but he didn't think it was enough. He tipped the bottle the rest of the way and watched a pink cloud rise and form a heart before disappearing. He looked into the cup again. It still didn't look any different. Maybe a whole bottle wasn't enough. Maybe he should make some more. Just then, Nikki walked through the portrait. He hid the bottle in his robes and turned to face her with a smile on his face. She eyed him suspiciously, slowing her pace until she was about seven feet away before coming to a stop.

"What are you up to?"

"Nothing. What would give you the idea that I was plotting something?" She glared at him.

"Another one of your plans and you're toast," she said in a low voice. His smile widened.

"Why Nikki darling, I wouldn't dream of it."

"Sure you wouldn't," she said sarcastically. He looked concerned.

"You look a little dehydrated. What something to drink?" he asked offering her the cup. She looked at it and laughed.

"Oh please Sirius. Don't treat me like I'm stupid."

"Humor me. Please?" he asked giving her the puppy dog eyes. Her laughter subsided and she looked skeptically at him.

"You probably put some sort of potion in it." Sirius shook his head.

"What makes you think that!"

"Only that it was sitting here with _you_ the whole time," she said.

"C'mon. You do really look like you could use something to drink," he said. She considered it for a moment.

"I'll go to the kitchens. I could use the exercise." Sirius pleaded with her yet again.

"I poured this for myself and decided that I didn't want it. Don't let it go to waste."

"Then you should have thought of that before you poured shouldn't you?"

"Just take it," he said thrusting it toward her. She looked down at it and sniffed it. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You swear you didn't put anything in it?" Sirius nodded his head, crossing his fingers behind his back. She scrutinized it for yet another moment before she sipped it. He watched her evaluate the taste before drinking it all. All of a sudden, it fell from her hand and her eyes widened, as her body stiffened. He looked at her and smiled to himself. All of a sudden, she closed her eyes and opened them again. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and stepped in front of her to put it on. She smiled up at him, a daze in her eyes. He smiled down at her.

"Stay still," he said.

"Ok," she said simply as he blindfolded her. "Is this some sort of game?"

"Yup. It's a fun game, a game where you're blindfolded at the beginning." He led her to a chair. "Sit down and hold still ok?" He guided her into the chair and began to tie her up. She sat perfectly still and let him tie her. He then took another handkerchief from his pocket and gagged her. "I'll be right back ok?" She nodded her head.

"Murgphf." He ran from the room and into the library. He found Remus reading a book.

"Remus! Remus! It's Nikki! She's tied up." Remus bolted to his feet.

"What happened?"

"It's Frank! He's turned wild! He tied up Nikki, then left." Remus looked skeptically at him and sat back down.

"Nice try, now leave me alone!"

"But you do care for her right?"

"Of course I do!"

"Well, just to let you know, she really is tied up." Remus glared at him.

"Why don't you untie her?"

"Because she'll kill me for tying her up in the first place!"

"And she didn't put up a fight?"

"Nope."

"Because the Nikki _I_ know wouldn't have just sat and let you tie her up like that."

"She's changed," Sirius said.

"How?" Remus asked eyeing him.

"I guess you'll have to find out won't you?" Remus stood.

"Ok then," he said with a sigh. "Lead the way." Sirius led him up to the common room. They both saw Nikki waiting there patiently tied to the chair. She was gagged and blindfolded. Remus looked over to Sirius.

"Was this really necessary?"

"Of course it was! Why else do you think I did it?" Remus sighed and went to her. He undid her restraints and took out the gag. He undid the handkerchief around her eyes. She looked wide-eyed up at him and blinked.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah." She looked around and spotted Sirius. She got up and pranced over to him. She hugged him and laid her head on his chest. She looked up at him after a few moments. "I don't like that game," she said. Sirius' eyes widened and he looked up at Remus, who looked thoroughly vexed.

"I guess she has changed. Happy now?" Sirius vigorously shook his head and pushed Nikki away from him.

"No, no, no! This wasn't supposed to happen! She's supposed to be in love with you!"

"Oh yeah? Well it looks like she isn't. Thanks for rubbing it in my face that she likes one of by former best friends better," he said as he stalked through the painting. Sirius looked at Nikki.

"What are you doing!" She blinked her wide eyes. "You're supposed to be in love with him!"

"What ever are you talking about?" she asked with a small laugh. She came up to him and ran her finger down his chest. "You're the more perfect one. Your dark hair and… dangerous eyes," she said as she lifted her hand to his cheek. "How did I ever miss you? Never mind with him. You're nothing compared." Sirius was amazed for a moment, at who he was talking to, but then he remembered the potion and he wickedly smiled down at her. She smiled back.

"Tell me love, would you do anything for me?"

"Name it," she said simply. Thoughts raced in Sirius' mind. He could make her do anything he wanted, and then turn and fling them in her face.

"Well love," he said wrapping his arm around her. "I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship," he finished leading her out of the common room. Sirius held his head high with all the whispers from the students around them. Nikki had her head against his chest and didn't seem to mind it all. She looked up at him dreamily. All of a sudden, there was a mob or girls standing in front of them.

"Summers," one of them said to her. She looked at them.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"How dare you? You whore! You have now had _two_ of the Marauders!" She blinked at them.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Sirius is the only one _I_ want. He's handsome, and sexy, and hot, and…" She caressed his face. He smiled down at her.

"You do know I'm recording this conversation right?" he asked her. She smiled.

"Who cares," she replied. He smiled down at her.

"And I'm going to use it against you when you come around," he said.

"Against me? What ever did I do to you?" she asked. "I must have been under a spell if I ever did anything to you," she said. Sirius laughed and led her out of the castle. They ran into Lily, Alice, Frank and James. Their mouths all dropped at the sight.

"Sirius! What did you do to her!" Lily shrieked at the sight of Nikki stoking his hair.

"What makes you think _I_ did anything to her?" he asked with a smile. "I'm telling you that she did this all on her own. She finally found a good man for her," he said.

"Remus is going to kill you Padfoot," James replied staring wide eyed at Nikki.

"Nikki! Get over here," Lily said pointing to the ground in front of her. Nikki sneered at her.

"Who are you? My mother? I'm staying with Sirius right here." Lily glared at her. Nikki stuck out a bright purple tongue.

"Oh my God! Your tongue!" Alice exclaimed.

"What's wrong with my tongue?" Nikki asked sticking it out and trying to look down at it. She looked back up at Alice.

"It's bright purple," she said.

"Huh, that's weird. I don't taste anything," she replied.

"Sirius! I can't believe that you put her under the love potion!" Lily yelled.

"How much potion did you put in Sirius?" Frank asked cautiously.

"I don't want to know," Lily replied.

"Not that much," Sirius said indignantly.

"I didn't know you wanted Nikki that badly," James teased.

"I don't want Nikki," he said pushing her away. "The potion was meant for her to fall in love with _Remus_," he said.

"Not another of your plans," Lily groaned.

"I put it in her drink and she took it. Then I tied her up, blindfolded her and had Remus untie her. She looked right at him, but the potion didn't work."

"No, I think it worked alright. I think that when you blind folded her, you stepped in front of her." Sirius thought for a moment.

"Oh… Oops," he said. Lily smacked herself into the forehead. Sirius looked at her. "Careful with that one James. She's a bit crazy," he whispered.

"I heard that you dolt," Lily said.

"Oh."

"What are we going to do about this?" Alice asked looking at Nikki, who was still trying to see her tongue. Lily sighed.

"We just have to wait it out I guess."

"How long do you think that will take?" Frank asked.

"Depends on how much potion he put in," Lily said looking at Nikki. "It could be a couple hours or… like ten." She looked at Sirius. "How much did you put in?" she asked. He shrugged also looking at Nikki.

"Not too much," he said.

"How much is that?" Alice asked.

"Don't you trust me?" he asked looking at Alice and giving her his puppy dog eyes. Alice hesitated.

"No," Lily interjected for both of them.

"Almost had her too," Sirius said with a scowl.

"So how much did you put in Sirius? And what did you put it into?" Lily asked.

"I put it in a cup of pumpkin juice and I just put in a little bit," he said.

"How much is a little bit?" Lily continued.

"A couple drops," he said. Lily relaxed.

"Good, she'll only be like this for a couple of hours." Sirius looked around.

"Well, now that we've figured it all out, I guess I'll be leaving now." Lily looked at him suspiciously.

"How big were those drops?" she asked. He looked at her sheepishly.

"Maybe they were just a bit bigger than normal," he said quietly. Lily held out her hand. Sirius looked at it. "What?" he asked.

"The vial," she said. Sirius sighed and stuck his hand in his robe, pulling out the empty vial. He dropped it in her open hand. All four stared at it with their mouths wide open.

"You put this whole bottle in!" Lily cried. He shrunk away from her.

"Maybe," he answered. She threw the bottle at him. "I didn't think there was enough in the drink," he explained.

"You moron! Do you have any idea what you've done!"

"Um Lily, how long will Nikki be in love with Sirius?" James asked cautiously.

"Two days," Alice answered.

"Two days!" Frank exclaimed. They all looked at Nikki. She stared at them blankly before retreating behind Sirius.

"Why are they looking at me like that?" she whispered. Sirius smiled down at her and looked back at Lily.

"This can be a good thing," Sirius said.

"How can this be a good thing Sirius!" Lily yelled.

"Well, just think. What an awesome prank this would be. I mean, she'll do anything I tell her to do, and then I can shove it back in her face," he said excitedly.

"I can't believe you," Lily said. "No wait, yes I can. It would be just like you to do something as low as this," she said shoving him aside. She grabbed Nikki by the arm a dragged her back up to the school.

"Where are you taking me? I want Sirius," she whined.

"Well Sirius is a little busy," Lily replied. Nikki looked back at him.

"No he's not. He's just standing there doing nothing. Let me go."

"Like I said, he's busy." Lily pushed her through the school and into the common room. She pushed her into a seat and quickly tied her to the chair.

"I don't like this game," Nikki whined.

"This isn't a game Nikki. Now listen to me." She looked Nikki straight in the eye. "Sirius has you under a love potion. You are really in love with Remus got that? Sirius is using you. _You don't love Sirius_." Nikki blinked.

"He put me under the love potion?" she asked. Lily smiled. Was this actually working?

"Yes he did. He's going to make you do things that you wouldn't normally do, then he's going to use them against you," Lily said. Nikki looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Naw. He wouldn't do that to me. He loves me." Lily sighed.

"So hopeful," she said to herself. She looked back up at Nikki. "I'm going to find an antidote for you. Stay right here." Nikki blinked and tried the restraints. They held her fast to the chair.

"Ok," she said. Lily walked out of the common room and headed towards the Potions room. Maybe she should get Alice to watch Nikki. She shook her head. The restraints would hold her there. She continued to the room.

Back in the Common room.

Nikki tried the restraints again, but they still held her to the chair.

"Damn that girl! I don't even know who she is and she's got me tied up!" She looked around the room and started to hum to herself. All of a sudden, she heard someone coming through the portrait. She looked over at it and saw Sirius sneak through. He looked around the room and spotted her. "Sirius! You've come to rescue me!" she said excitedly. He smiled at her and went to her side.

"Yes my love. I'm your knight in shining armor." She sighed a dreamy sigh and batted her eyelashes. Sirius' smile widened. He quickly untied her and helped her up. She wrapped her arms around him and tried to kiss him. He looked wide-eyed at her and quickly stepped away. She looked at him funny.

"Something the matter?" she asked.

"Yes, um, I… uh… got a cold soar. Yeah that's right. I…uh don't want you to catch it," he said. He held his breath.

"That's funny. I don't see a cold soar," she said looking at him.

"I…uh…used this new stuff. It…um…makes them invisible. You know, can't ruin my superior complexion," he said quickly.

"Oh, well why didn't you just get that stuff that's gets rid of it?" she asked.

"Oh… well… I uh… didn't have enough money with me at the time. Yeah that's it." He laughed nervously. "I guess you got to just roll with the punches." She looked at him suspiciously for a moment, then just shrugged her shoulders and walked up next to him wrapping her arm around his.

"Ok," she said. "Let's get out of here before that girl ties me up again." Sirius nodded and they rushed out of the room.

Lily was walking back from the potions room when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She looked behind her and saw James smiling down at her. She smiled back.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey yourself," he replied wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "What have you been up to?" he asked looking at the books and parchment in her hands. Lily looked down at them and they began walking toward the common room.

"Just looking for an antidote for Nikki."

"Oh. Did you find anything?" Lily sighed.

"Unfortunately no. I guess I'll just have to keep Nikki under lock and key for the next couple of days." They reached to door to the common room and went inside. Lily looked around the room and froze. James felt her tense and looked around also. He spotted a chair by the window with ropes around the floor of it.

"Wow, I guess you really meant it when you said you were keeping Nikki under lock and key."

"Oh no. She's gone!"

"Yeah. Looks that way doesn't it?" James asked. She dropped everything on the ground and rushed over to the chair. She picked up the ropes. James followed her and looked at the chair. "You really tied her up?" he asked. He put on a mock serious face. "I know you two have had some rocky times, but I've never seen it go this far."

"This is serious James! Do you know what he'll do to her if he finds her!"

"If who finds her?" he asked.

"Sirius of course! He probably untied her. We've got to find her now!"

"Lily, this is probably not as bad as you think. Just relax, I mean Sirius is not going to do anything too bad."

"Of course he will! He's Sirius. Don't tell me you forgot about the fact that they're kind of in the middle of a prank war." James winced.

"Oh yeah that's right. But I mean, still…"

"James, let's be practical here ok? She's under a spell. She'll do anything he wants. He's going to record all conversations and take pictures of things that she normally wouldn't do, then humiliate her in front of the entire school. James, this is very serious. We've got to find her before…" her face paled.

"Before what?"

"Oh my… what if he…" she put her hand up to her forehead and looked in disbelief at the floor at her feet. James thought about it a moment.

"No! He would never do that to her! Plus, Remus would be totally shattered if he did that. Lily! How could you even think that!" She looked up at him.

"James! Look at what he does to women all the time! It was totally possible." James shook his head.

"Not to Nikki he wouldn't. No, he wouldn't hurt Remus like that. Merlin Lily! He's not heartless."

"Well, how should I know what he will and won't do! He's your friend, not mine!"

"I wouldn't hang with him if he did that. Don't you trust me? If you did, you would trust me enough to trust the friends I hang out with."

"Well James, after all the pranks you've pulled on me and my friends through out our years at Hogwarts, I don't know what to trust." James' face grew slightly red, then dulled. He sighed in defeat.

"I guess your right."

"Now will you help me find Nikki before that moron does something to her?"

"Just keep your cool Lils," he said with his palms facing her in a defensive position. "Remember that this is just a prank ok?"

"A pretty foolish one on his part. When will he learn that whatever he does to her, she'll do tenfold back to him?" James laughed.

"He is pretty stubborn," he said. "Kind of like someone else I know." Lily smiled slightly.

"Very funny. Let's just find him ok? Where should we start?" James shrugged. "James!"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know! He's your friend. Don't you have _some_ idea?" James shook his head.

"Nope, not really. He's kind of… well you know… unpredictable." Lily smacked her hand to her forehead.

"Well, where do you _think_ Sirius would go?" James looked thoughtfully at the ceiling before looking back at Lily.

"There's a slight problem with that."

"What?"

"Sirius would either go to the kitchens, or the girl's bathroom. However, he's trying to hide Nikki, so… he probably wouldn't go to either." Lily sighed.

"Well then, what should we do?"

"How about we ask him next time we see him?" James suggested.

"Are you crazy! He'll probably be done with her by then!"

"Do_ you _have any better ideas?" She sighed.

"No."

"Then, what do you want to do about this?"

"Well, I guess we should just start looking around."

"That's going to take forever," James groaned.

"Better get started then huh?" She walked passed him and out the door.

A few days later and Nikki and Sirius were still no where to be found. The map had been lost for a few days now and to many rooms for all of them to be checked through.

Lily had dragged James up and down stairs and all around the school looking for the two. Days later Lily came across a room where noises could be heard. Walking in she found Nikki tied to a chair and a screen playing all the horrible things she did while under the love potion. Sirius was laughing in a corner until he saw Lily. Printed posters were in the middle of the floor flashing Nikki in humiliating outfits.

"What are you doing Sirius?" Lily yelled. She ran over and released Nikki from the chair who began crying and running out of the room.

"I was just going to post these and make Nikki the laughing stock of the school," Sirius explained collecting some of the posters. Lily made them disappear with a swish of her wand.

James was wandering around the halls looking for his girlfriend who seemed to have disappeared when he saw Nikki running down the hall crying and muttering about Sirius and what an ass he was. Sprinting into the room Nikki came out of, James came across an angry Sirius and a furious Lily.

"Hey James, you know, some help would be of use right now," Sirius said to James. He shrugged. "What's that supposed to mean!"

"It means that he's taking my side on this," Lily said. Sirius glared at James.

"No. No it's not. It's just that…" Lily rounded on him.

"What!"

"I'd rather not be in the middle of this whole thing," he said sheepishly.

"James Potter. I can't believe that you don't find any of what he did wrong. How can you be so senseless!"

"I never said that I didn't think it was wrong I just…"

"James! How can you leave me out to dry like that! After all we've been through," Sirius interrupted. James looked at him.

"What? That's not what I meant…"

"Oh so now your on his side," Lily said with her hands on her hips. He whirled to face her.

"No, that's not what I…"

"James, how can you still be on his side after seeing what he did to Nikki?"

"It was a prank Lily. It's not like she got hurt, I mean, look at what she's done to us," Sirius yelled.

"I wasn't talking to you! How can you still be on his side?" she repeated to James.

"He's my best mate Lils, but I'm still with you too," he reasoned.

"Look James, you can't have both. If you're going to side with him, I don't see how we can be."

"No Lils, wait…" She raised her eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"I'll talk to Sirius ok?"

"So, you've turned yet again," Sirius said behind him. He whirled around.

"Not the time Sirius. We'll talk later ok?"

"No, we'll talk now. What's gotten into you mate? You used to stick up for me no matter what. Now you've turned on your best friend."

"Look Sirius, right now I'm trying not to loose my _girl_friend ok?"

"You mean ex-girlfriend?" Lily said from behind. James whirled around.

"What? No. What do you mean ex?"

"I mean that if you're going to stand up for Sirius and feel that what he did was alright, we can't be. There's too much difference between us James. This isn't working. We've already broken up once. Obviously there's something wrong here."

"No Lils. Don't do this. C'mon, he's my best mate. I'll talk to him. He'll come around."

"What!" James waved behind him for Sirius to be quiet.

"No James. I'm sorry." Lily turned and went out of the common room.

"I can't believe this," Sirius said from behind him. James ran his hands through his hair.

"Tell me about it," James mumbled.

"I can't believe you didn't stick up for me." James whirled around.

"What?"

"After all we've been through, how come you didn't stick up for me!"

"Sirius, I just lost my dream girl over this!"

"Oh, so you're going to choose her over your best mate!"

"No… yes… maybe… I don't know." James shook his head. "Look Sirius. It was funny at first, but then you took it a little too far."

"It was a prank James. And a damned good one too. I mean look at what she's done to me!"

"I know, but Lily does have a point."

"I can't believe this! Listen James. Obviously you've got some problems ok? But still, best friends stick up for each other no matter what. I'd do the same for you no matter what. Looks like you don't feel the same way," he said glaring at James.

"Now don't you start too, I'm still your best friend, but this case is slightly different."

"No. It's not. And I'm not your best mate any more either."

"What! Sirius…"

"If you're not going to be there for me, I've got to find me some new friends." He stormed out of the common room. James sighed and ran both hands through his hair.

"What the fuck is happening! Why!" he yelled to no one in particular. He trudged up the stairs and closed the door to the dormitories behind him.

"What's up James?" someone asked. He looked up and saw Remus lying on his back on his bed.

"I just lost Lily _and _Sirius in about five minutes."

"I heard. Me too, although I must admit, it was a bit quicker than that."

"So what do we do?"

"I don't know." Remus sat up. "Let's go to the room of requirement." James shrugged.

"Why not." They got up and went from the room.

Moments later, they stood in front of a blank wall staring at the stone.

"So… what do we say?" James asked.

"I don't know. How about… a room to go to when you've lost the love of your life and your best friend in less than five minuets?" All of a sudden a door appeared. Remus grabbed the handle and pulled. It opened into a casket showing room. Remus shut the door disgustedly. "Not that kind of loss. Fine then, be picky. We need a room to go in after the love of our life breaks up with us and then our best friend becomes…" he paused to think, "not our best friend anymore." The door changed. James pulled it open. They walked into a dark room. After the door closed, soft blues music started to play and the room became dimly lit. There were bottles everywhere. James and Remus frowned at each other. James picked up a bottle and his eyebrows rose.

"Wow this room is good."

"What is it?" James held it up to him.

"Fire whiskey," he said.

"Well then, I guess its bottom's up." Remus picked up another bottle and they both started to drink away their sorrows.

Lily walked into the library. Nikki was sitting at the table reading a book. Alice was sitting across from her. They both looked up as Lily slunk into the chair next to Nikki. Both girls frowned at each other, then at her.

"What's up Lils?" Nikki asked.

"I can't believe…" she started.

"What?" Alice coaxed.

"I just broke up with James," she said staring blankly at the table.

"You what?" Nikki asked.

"Uh oh," Alice replied.

"What happened?"

"He stood up for his best friend and I broke up with him. I was yelling at Sirius and he said he would talk to him. He kept changing sides and when he went more toward Sirius than me, I broke it off."

"Oh Lily. Why did you do it? This is all my fault. I just should have handled it myself," Nikki said shaking her head.

"I can't believe what a terrible person I am. I made James choose between me and his best friend." Alice shook her head in disbelief.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll just go back up to the common room and talk it out with him. He'll probably never want to see me again though," she groaned bringing her hands up to cover her face.

"No, he'll listen. Just… you know… tell him how you feel," Nikki reassured.

"Look who's talking," Lily said eyeing her through her fingers.

"I beg your pardon! I'm only trying to help you," she said indignantly.

"Please you two. Merlin you fight like sisters. This isn't the time nor the place," Alice said harshly. Both girls looked over at her and apologized. "Now, let's get you back up there Lily so you can have a chat with James." All three got up and went to the common room.

James and Remus stumbled into the corridor singing to the tune playing inside the room, each with a half empty bottle of fire whisky in hand. They fell onto the floor.

"Sheesh James. Could you be any clumsier?" Remus slurred out.

"Look who's talking Mooney. You're on the bottom." Remus looked down at the floor underneath him.

"Would you look at that? How did that floor get there?" he asked.

"I don't know, but it's kind of cold don't you think?"

"Get off of me." James stumbled off Remus and sat up. Remus sat up. Both men lifted the half empty bottles in the air.

"To…" James started, swaying. "I don't know. To fire whisky and its magic," he said.

"Sounds good." Both boys lifted the bottles to their lips and flung their heads back. Just then, both fell back to the floor. James noticed a pair of shoes in front of him. He looked up and met the twinkling blue eyes of Dumbledore.

"Hiya Dumbly," he slurred.

"Dumbly," Remus repeated. Both laughed drunkenly.

"How's it going up there?" James asked when his laughter subsided.

"I think the better question is what are you two doing?" They sat up and lifted the bottles in the air.

"To whatever we're doing," they said in unison and threw back their heads.

"I think that's enough for tonight," he said. Instantly the two bottles were whisked back into the room.

"Hey, I wasn't done yet," Remus whined.

"Yeah, this is a record breaking night," James chimed in.

"How many bottles have you two had?" Dumbledore asked. James shrugged.

"Just a couple," he said. Dumbledore looked into the room to find dozens of empty bottles.

"Uh huh," he said. "I think we better get you back to your common room. Do you need me to levitate you?"

"Nah," Remus said waving his hand. "We're fine." Both tried to stand up, but fell back down again in a fit of laughter. Dumbledore raised his eyebrow at them. James waved his hand.

"Maybe we can't walk, but I can still levitate myself." He took out his wand and pointed it at the floor. A stream of blue fire shot out of the wand and onto the floor. James shot up and hit the ceiling. Dumbledore pointed his wand at him and mumbled an incitation that lightly put him back on the floor. Remus erupted in laughter. James' face screwed up in confusion as he ran his hand over the back of his head.

"Nice one Jamsie. Can you teach me to do that some time?" Remus said once his laughter subsided.

"Right then, up we go," Dumbledore said levitating them both. "Follow me, though it's not like you to have much of a choice."

"Hey looky James, the ground's way down there, and we're way up here."

"We're flying with out brooms. It's super James to the rescue." Remus squinted.

"Where are we going?"

"To your common room," Dumbledore replied without looking back.

"I don't want to go there. I want to go back with my pain killers," James whined.

"I think you've had enough tonight, but you're certainly going to need them tomorrow." He walked through the painting, with James and Remus floating behind.

Lily and Nikki were sitting by the fire. Alice had gone up to bed. They sat there talking about James and Remus when they heard someone come into the common room. They looked over and saw Dumbledore with a levitating James and Remus behind him. Their mouths dropped. They ran over.

"Professor! What happened?" Lily asked in shock.

"They were in the room of requirement," he replied.

"Doing what?" Lily asked. Dumbledore was about to answer.

"Oh my," Nikki interrupted. She waved her hands in front of her face. "I think I already know." Dumbledore nodded. He walked over to the couch and laid James on one and Remus on the other.

"I trust you two will watch over them?" he asked them.

"Uh, yeah," Lily said.

"Very well then. Good night to the two of you. And good luck." He left. Both girls looked at each other.

"What should we do?" Lily asked Nikki.

"I guess get damp clothes and put them on their foreheads," she suggested. They got the cloths and lightly put it on their foreheads. Nikki sat next to Remus' head on the floor next to the couch. She gently applied the cloth to his face. Lily was doing the same. She opened the cloth and draped it over James' face. She used her fingers to press the cloth down. When she pulled back to cloth, he opened his eyes to look at her.

"Lily?" he rasped. She dropped the cloth and stared down at him in shock. He closed his eyes again and fell asleep.

"Oh my," Nikki said breaking the silence. "How much did they have to drink?" Lily shook her head.

"I don't know."

"Well now what do we do?"

"Stay up with them I guess," Lily said. They kept applying the damp cloths through out the night, but soon fell asleep.

James woke up to the bright lights in his eyes. He had a massive head ache. He groaned and tried to move. He felt something beside him. He looked over and found a mass of red hair on the edge of the couch beside him. Lily? What was she doing there? He looked over and found Remus on the couch across from him. Nikki was lying on the floor beside the couch. Weird. He sat up, but the wave of nausea brought him back down. Lily awoke with a start. She looked at him.

"James?" she whispered.

"What are you doing here?" She stood up. They heard Remus sit up and groan as he laid back down.

"Oh my head," he moaned. He tried to sit up and again. He put his feet down hard, landing firmly on Nikki. She awoke with a cry of pain. Remus jerked back on the couch.

"Oh my God," both boys said wincing.

"Not so loud Nikki," James moaned.

"Well is someone hadn't jumped on me in the first place," she hissed holding her ribs under her arm.

"If someone wasn't sleeping right there," Remus retorted.

"Sorry for staying up all night with _you_," she said.

"Nikki," James hissed holding his head. Remus fell back onto the couch.

"What happened?" Lily whispered.

"What do you mean what happened? It's pretty self explanatory," James replied. Lily bent down next to him and wiped the hair form his forehead.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"For what?"

"For making you choose between your best friend and me," she finished.

"Don't worry about it." Lily looked over at Remus and Nikki. Nikki was dabbing the cloth across his face. He was watching her face and every movement, but Nikki was firmly concentrating on the cloth in her hand. Lily sighed. She looked back at James and started to do the same.

"I was stupid to make you do that. You should have stuck up for your friend. That's what I would have done, was doing." James shook his head.

"Don't worry about it," he repeated. "Can you just please make this go away?" Lily smiled.

"Nope. It's what you get for getting so damn drunk. By the way, how many did you two have each?" James grinned sheepishly.

"Just a couple," he said. Lily looked skeptically at him. "Ok about a dozen or so each."

"Drinks?" she asked. "That's not so bad I guess," she said continuing with the cloth.

"Um actually… it was more like… bottles," he said.

"What!" Lily shrieked dropping the cloth. James winced. Lily could hear Remus take in a sharp breath. "You both drank a dozen bottles each!" Lily saw Nikki glare at Remus.

"Could you keep it down please?" James pleaded. "For the sake of my sanity."

"I can't believe you two," she hissed to both James and Remus. James was looking at her, but Remus was now glancing at a very angry Nikki.

"We can explain," James said quickly. Lily raised an eyebrow. Nikki looked over at James. He could see the anger flashing in her eyes. He shrunk away. "Remus can do it better though." Both girls looked at Remus.

"Oh gee, thanks James."

"Any time buddy," he replied.

"Well then, we're waiting," Lily said. Remus looked nervously at Nikki.

"Well, um… we decided that we needed a little help drowning out our problems," he said.

"And what problems would you two have?"

"Losing you two and Sirius as our best mate," he finished. Lily looked over at James, her expression softened.

"Oh," she said continuing to wipe his face with the cloth. Lily looked over at Nikki who had begum doing the same thing. She saw Remus grab her hand and stop it. Lily turned back to James. He was looking at her. "I'm sorry," she said yet again. "I don't know what I was doing."

"How many times do I have to tell you, it's alright. Stop your worrying." Lily smiled down at him, but then it faded.

"Oh no," she said. James sat up on his elbows and frowned at her.

"What's the matter? Are you ok?"

"No, I feel terrible," Lily said. James sighed.

"Not about the same thing is it?" Lily looked sheepishly at him.

"Well… kind of. What about Sirius? I mean, you lost him, and Remus did too."

"What about me?" Remus asked from behind. Lily waved for him to be quiet.

"He's going to take some working on," James said easing back onto the couch. All of a sudden the painting swung open.

"HELLO? IS ANYONE IN HERE?" they heard Sirius yell out. James and Remus covered their ears. Lily and Nikki covered their hands with their own and glared over at Sirius.

"Shhhhh," Lily hissed. He walked over and peered over at the couches.

"OH, POOR THINGS. ARE WE A LITTLE HUNG OVER?" he yelled.

"Sirius! Quiet down," Lily whispered. He glared at her.

"Make me," he said. She stood and glared at him. James grabbed at her.

"No, sit down. I'll talk to him." He eased back up into a sitting position. "Hey Sirius," he said.

"I don't talk to you traitor," he said walking away.

"Sirius, we need to talk. All three of us," Remus said. Sirius whirled around.

"Not you too," he said. Remus nodded his head. Sirius stalked back to the couch Remus sat up. Sirius placed his hands on the back of the couch, his knuckles turning white with his grip. His eyes flashed dangerously. "Ok then, let's talk. I'll start. I thought of you two as my closest friends. And _you_," he said looking pointedly at James, "fed me to the wolves. I can't believe that you didn't stick up for me. Lily was doing the same for her friend. That's loyalty, but you just sided with her. I mean, you know I would have stuck up for you no matter what. And _you_," he said now looking at Remus, "how could you ever think I would want to steal your _precious_ girlfriend! I'm not that low. Even if I did want her, I wouldn't have sabotaged your relationship. For merlins sake, I was trying to get you two back together because your so love struck with her that you act like a sick dog." He took a deep breath, taking his time to notice Nikki's slightly pink face as she looked down at the cloth in the hands and Lily's wandering eyes. "So, let's talk," he finished. James and Remus stared blankly at him. James cleared his throat.

"Well… Sirius, I just want to say that I'm sorry. And that I was out in a pretty tough position. I mean, I didn't want to lose my dream girl, or my best friend. Actually, I was kind of hoping that you would have understood that to Lily, I had to look like I was talking her side, but after she was gone, that I would talk to you and you would understand, not be so quick to judge me." Sirius blinked.

"Ok, well, seeing as I was being ripped apart by Lily, I was kind of hoping to get a little support from yours truly," Sirius retorted.

"Come on Sirius, you've delt with Lily's wrath before. You sometimes even try purposely to get her mad. Why did you want my support then?"

"Because _then _was just after a huge prank on one of her best friends. That's much more deadly than any of the other stuff that I do to make her mad." James shrugged.

"Then why did you do it?"

"Are you kidding me? How could I pass off this chance at the best prank ever! It was perfect. Plus, I expected you to at least take some of the heat off me."

"Even if I did from Lily, there's no way getting around Nikki," he said with a small smile. Sirius looked over at her and saw the rage flickering in her eyes. He glared at her.

"You just wait. I haven't finished with Remus yet," he said.

"Go ahead, I'm not stopping you," she said casting a sidelong glance at him. "But after this is all done you're mine," she said with an icy gaze at him. He took a step, his eyes wide, but then he looked back at James and stepped back up to the couch.

"Well, after that lovely conversation, let's get back to the discussion at hand." James shrugged.

"Ok." Sirius hesitated for a moment.

"What exactly were talking about again?" he asked.

"Actually, I believe that we had just finished with me and you were going to say that we were friends again, and then move on to Remus." Sirius gulped.

"Oh. I was afraid you were going to say that." He looked over at Remus. He cleared his throat. "As for you. What do you have to say?"

"About what?"

"About when you blamed me for stealing your girlfriend."

"This girlfriend has a name," Nikki interjected icily. Sirius looked over at her.

"I don't believe that you were invited into this conversation _Nikki_," he replied. She narrowed her eyes at him. He looked quickly back at Remus.

"Well, I was in the midst of dealing with breaking up with Nikki. And then with all your plans, it felt like it just made things worse between me and her, and the way things were going, it seemed to me that she would never want to go aback out with me again. Then, all of a sudden, just seeing her in love with someone else and just with there with you, acting like she was, I guess I just snapped."

"But it was me. Sirius! Did it ever register in your head that it was me!" Remus shook his head slowly.

"The only thing I saw was the way she acted towards whoever it was. Like I said, I just snapped. Plus, it didn't help your case with what was happening to all your plans," he said darkly to Sirius. Sirius grinned sheepishly.

"Ok, I guess I understand you both now." He sighed. "Wow, this talking things out really works. Maybe I should be a group therapist," he said.

"Sure, just after you get out of the hospital wing," Nikki said. He looked at her like she was crazy.

"I don't have to go to the hospital wing," he said.

"You will once I'm through with you. And if I have my way, you'll be in there a long time," she said standing up. She threw the cloth toward him and said an incitation. In mid air, it turned into a small knife and whizzed right by Sirius' head. Everybody stared wide-eyed at Sirius and the knife that clattered to the floor at the far side of the common room.

"How'd you do that!" James exclaimed. Nikki's eyes narrowed on Sirius.

"The same way I do this." She threw a pillow off the couch at him. She said another incitation and it changed into tow steak knives. They both just missed Sirius narrowly and fell near the far wall. Sirius gulped. He held his hands up.

"Now Nikki…" he smiled awkwardly at her and began to back away. "Be reasonable."

"Oh, so now you want to be reasonable!" She looked away momentarily as if to consider something. "I can do reasonable." Sirius sighed. She threw another pillow at him. Again she said another spell and it changed into an ax. Again, just missing Sirius's head, it fell to the floor and slid on the floor to the other side of the room. "You're right. That's much more reasonable."

"That's not what I meant."

"Oh really? Then what exactly did you mean?" She picked up another pillow and held it in her hand. Sirius gulped looking at the pillow. "Oh and Sirius?" He looked at her, eyes wide. "I would be _very_ careful at what you say next," she finished with a malicious smile. He laughed nervously.

"Well… I was just… thinking… you know, seeing as that's what I do best…" he coughed seeing that Nikki's expression hadn't changed. "Well, seeing that talking these things out works so well… how about we try that?" Nikki considered it for a moment.

"Well, that could work…" Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. "But seeing how you're getting the better part of the deal, I think not." She threw the pillow at him and said the spell. Against the pillow turned into an ax and missed Sirius' cheek by mere inches. It fell near the other ax at the far side of the room.

"You know, for a wicked smart girl, you are a little off on your aim," he said.

"I wouldn't tempt me if I were you," she said through gritted teeth. He took a step back from her. All of a sudden, the painting swung open and Alice and Frank entered. They looked at the weapons on the floor. Frank smiled at them, then at Nikki. He bent down and picked up and ax. He walked over to the group and smiled at them.

"Oh, we're having a fight? I want to join in too?" He raised the ax above his head. Sirius spun around, his eyes wide.

"Frank! What are you doing!"

"It was always my dream to be a part of one of these," he said.

"What!" James said in disbelief. Frank looked at him.

"We never have them anymore. I love these." He brought the ax down. Lily shrieked and James lunged forward, but it was tool late. Frank had brought the ax down on Sirius' head. James fell about three inches short of Sirius. Everyone had squeezed their eyes shut. Sirius opened his eyes. He saw Frank and Alice's puzzled looks and saw the ax next to Frank's leg. He stared in shock at Frank and took a step back, landing on James' hand. James wailed in pain as Sirius jumped off it. Lily bent down next to James. Sirius whirled to look wide-eyed at Frank.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked. Sirius choked.

"What's wrong with me! What's wrong with me! You just tried to kill me! What's wrong with you!" Frank looked down at the ax in his hand and stared at Sirius, Lily and James.

"You thought I was going to kill you with this!" he asked them holding up the ax. Sirius nodded. Nikki could no longer keep it in. She burst out in a fit of laughter. Everyone looked confusedly at her. James, Lily and Sirius all looked back at Frank. He looked down at the ax in his hand.

"Uh, Frank?" James cautiously asked him. "What kind of fight were you so happy about having?"

"A pillow fight of course. I mean, there were pillows all over there," he waved behind him to the other weapons. "Except that cloth over there by the door. See?" He brought the ax up over his head again and brought it down on Sirius' head. It hit with a dull 'thud' and slid off to the floor. Nikki's laughter subsided. All five looked at her. She had a malicious smile on her face and her eyes flashed a mixture of smugness and humor. She waved her hand and murmured a quick spell. Instantly, all the weapons turned into pillows.

"Nikki!" Lily shrieked. "What did you do?"

"My dear friend," she replied. "I just played the best prank ever on Sirius here. Instead of turning them into weapons, I just said an illusion spell. Now do you see why my aim was so bad Sirius?" He glared at her.

"But why did you do it to me and James?" Lily asked indignantly.

"You both were in the room when I cast it. Plus, I couldn't have you ruining it by telling him it was just a pillow. I mean, did you see the look on his face!" She burst into another fit of giggles. "Better yet, it's all recorded." She held out her hand. "Accio camera" All of a sudden, a small box flew from on the wall to the hand. She pocketed the tiny camera.

"Where'd you get that!" Alice asked.

"Sirius and his friends weren't the only ones to go out of the country during vacation. I thought it might come in useful and looky here," she replied. Sirius' face went red. Frank cleared his throat.

"Um Nikki? I was just curious as to what they saw," he said sheepishly. Nikki smiled at him.

"Of course. That cloth was a small knife. That pillow there nearer the corner was two steak knives and those two by the door, or the one you had looked like an ax," she finished.

"Oh, thanks," he said.

"My pleasure." Sirius rounded on Nikki.

"This isn't the end," he said to her. She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh on the contrary, it's just the beginning," she replied. He stalked through the painting. James stood up.

"Hey? Don't I get any credit for trying to push him out of the way!" Nikki smiled at him.

"Seeing as he was in no particular danger from a pillow, not really. And also seeing as how you kind of fell short, again, I'd have to say no." James frowned, and then shrugged.

"Oh well. Awesome prank Nikki." She nodded her head in appreciation. James sat back on the couch. Lily sat next to him. Nikki looked around.

"I think I'll go do some homework now. If anyone needs me, I'll be in the library." She walked through the painting. All four looked at Remus.

"What?" he asked. Lily and Alice nodded towards the door. He sighed.

"She'll never talk to me." Lily and Alice gave him the eyes the said 'Oh yes she will.' "Well, what do I say?"

"Ask her for some help with something. Or just tell her that you need to talk." He ran his hand through his hair.

"Come on mate, at least it's worth a try," James said.

"Yeah, worse comes to worse, she tells you that she hates you and never wants to see, hear or speak to you again." The three rounded on him and glared at him. He laughed nervously. "Did I just say that, no I didn't, I men I was just kidding… I'll be up in my dorm," he said quickly before running up the stairs. Lily sighed.

"She really likes you too Remus, she's just…" Looked at the floor in front of her," having some difficulties." Alice looked away. Remus sighed and stood up.

"I guess it's worth a try." Lily and Alice looked at him.

"Awesome!" They both said in unison. Remus smiled at them and headed out the door.

Lily came down from the dorm stairs. James, Alice, Frank and Sirius were waiting for her. She ran up and gave James a kiss and then they all started down for breakfast. They entered the Great Hall and low and behold, the footage from the camera was playing on a big screen. All eyes turned to Sirius as he entered the room. The room filled with laughter. Sirius scowled and headed toward their usual seats. Dumbledore walked in and the room fell silent. He watched the footage with a twinkle in his eye. Once it was done and had started to replay, he waved his hand and the screen was gone. He walked past their seats and stopped behind Sirius.

"Interesting debut Mr. Black."

"Yes, I thought so," he mumbled. Dumbledore continued on to his seat. Lily looked around.

"Hey, has anyone seen Remus and Nikki this morning?" Just then, Remus came and sat down next to James.

"Where's Nikki?" Lily asked.

"In bed," he answered.

"Oooh. Long night Moony?" Sirius asked.

"Not in my bed you idiot. Hers." Lily and Alice looked at each other, then at him. He shook his head. "No! We stayed up looking up something," he said disgustedly.

"Something like the anatomy of a female of male?" Sirius asked.

"Look, Nikki and I are not together. When will you get that straight!"

"How did the library go?" Lily asked quietly.

"Fine. Actually, we are together, but not as close as you guys are suggesting," he said looking directly at Sirius.

"Well, with the way you were talking, you never know," he said before starting to stuff his breakfast into his mouth. Just then, Nikki walked through the door. She came down and kissed Remus before sitting next to him. Sirius stopped eating and looked wide-eyed at them. He gulped.

"Who'd a thought my on of my plans worked after all?" All six looked skeptically at him. "Well, I mean in a round about way I guess. I mean if I hadn't given her the potion, then James, Remus and I wouldn't have gotten into that whole deal, and then Remus would have never told Nikki his true feelings because Nikki would have never listened and then they wouldn't be together right now," he said quickly. They all considered it before shrugging and agreeing. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief and they finished breakfast.

They were all headed into DADA. Sirius went in first and then the rest took their seats. The boys in the back and the girls in the front. All of a sudden, a woman came onto the balcony. She had Remus' mother's description. She smiled at the class. All four boy's mouths dropped.

"Oh mother," Remus whispered in shock.

"Literally or figuratively?" James asked.

"Both," Frank answered.

"This can't be a good thing," Sirius said.

"Hello class," came her cheery voice. "I'm your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. My name is Mrs. Lupin."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

"It's nice to see all of you. Now, which houses do we have this class?" she looked around. "Oh, I see. Gryffindor and Slytherin. How interesting."

The three girls looked over at the boys. Their faces were pale, and it didn't look like they were breathing. Lily elbowed James in the ribs. He sucked in a sharp breath and looked over at her, rubbing his ribs and frowned.

"That hurt," he hissed. "What the bloody hell was that for?" She nodded toward Frank, Sirius and Remus.

"Tell them to start breathing," she whispered. "Good God, it can't be that bad can it?"

"You have no idea!" he said shaking his head. Then they heard her cheery voice again.

"Well hello to you too boys." she said as she headed toward the back of the room. James' head whipped forward.

"Oh no." Lily heard him mutter.

"Ah lucky me, I have all four of you at once! Isn't this going to be exciting," she said with a smile. "Aw Jamsie, why are you looking at me like that? Aren't you excited about this? I am." She looked over at Remus and smiled broadly. "Aren't you going to say hi to me Remus?" she asked with her hands on her hips. He gulped.

"Um… hi mom." he muttered.

"I haven't talked to you in the longest time. Why don't you write to me?" Remus just shrugged, his cheeks going slightly red. He felt Nikki lay her hand gently on his arm under the desk and softly squeeze it reassuringly, before withdrawing it again. Remus' mother looked at all seven of them and raised an eyebrow. "Ah, I see we have some girlfriends." They all looked at each other. She looked at Lily and pointed at her questioningly. "You must be Nikki. Remus always goes on about you. It's so very nice to meet you by the way, but why aren't you sitting with my son?" She turned to look at Nikki. "Who are you? You aren't supposed to be there, Up!" she ordered. Remus looked over at Nikki, her face was blank and she stood. "Switch places with Nikki," she said. Nikki and Lily looked at each other before Lily stood and they swapped seats. Nikki was now sitting in the farthest seat from Remus, next to James and Lily was in between Remus and Frank. Lily looked over at her and saw that she was looking down into her lap. She looked back up and raised her hand.

"Um professor?"

"Yes Nikki? What can I do for you?"

"Um professor, I'm not-"she started.

"Oh don't worry about it darling. I know your probably uncomfortable sitting next to your boyfriend and having all this attention on you from his mother, but I just wanted to see how you two would look together, you know, just to imagine the colors for your wedding." The color drained from Lily's face and she slid a glance in Nikki's direction. Her head snapped up and she looked over at them. Lily looked back.

"That's not wha-"

"Let's see now, you have red hair, so pink is definitely out of the question, so is peach… How about green? Yes emerald, and… let's see, no, not green… how about the traditional white and black. Yes, that would look lovely. And roses. Oh how perfect. The white would definitely bring out your eyes and that fiery red hair of yours. I can only imagine how beautiful you'll look. Don't you think so Lily? After all, you are her best friend." Nikki looked at Remus and Lily.

"Yeah, she would look absolutely lovely." she said quietly before looking back down at her lap.

"Oh come now. What's gotten into you? You should hear James's mother and how she can't wait to get you two off and married. Aren't you happy for your friend?" She asked. Nikki looked up at her.

"I am professor, I'm just… um… having some troubles at home," she said softly but quickly. Lily made a small sound that made Nikki look over at her.

"Tell her!" she mouthed. Nikki looked back down into her lap. Lily raised her hand again.

"Professor, I'm-" she started again.

"I know, I know," she replied holding her hands up in a defensive position. "This is class time. I'm sorry. Now let's get back to work." Lily made an impatient sound and sat back in her chair. She looked over at James who was saying something to Nikki. She leaned over to Remus.

"What do you think James is saying to Nikki?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I hope its something good like, 'let's talk later about this', or 'She's just confused, it means nothing.'" Lily nodded.

"Now then class, how about we get started." She looked around the room and focused on the seven of them in the back row again. "Are you alright Ms. Evans?" she asked. Nikki looked up.

"Fine." she replied.

"What, you don't like sitting next to James? He doesn't bite, I'm sure of it."

"I'm fine." she repeated.

"I can't help but to butt in Ms. Evans, but you sure don't look fine to me. Is there anything I can do?" She shook her head and sat straight up.

"Again, I'm fine, but thanks for your concern," she said. Lily nudged Remus.

"This is not going well Remus." she whispered. He nodded.

"I know, I need to go talk to her." he replied.

"You should correct her!" she said.

"Would you correct _your_ mother?" Lily's cheeks grew slightly red.

"But my mothers different. She'd make it way more embarrassing," she replied.

"And you don't think mine wouldn't? She just planned our wedding! And we're not even going out!" They heard someone clear their throat and looked up into the smiling face of his mother.

"Would you look at that, you two are perfect for each other, fighting like a married couple already." Their faces grew hot. She smiled at them, and then turned to face the rest of the class.

"Now class, I'm going to split you up into groups. Mixed groups. Count off by fives if you would." Everyone in the class groaned.

"But Mrs. Lupin, they're Slytherins. We never work with Slytherins. They always smell bad," Sirius whined.

"Then I suggest that you start to bring a pair of nose plugs with you to class Mr. Black."

"Aw come on Mrs. L. Can't you spare us?"

"Mr. Black," she said turning back to the seven. "If you would not like a set of detentions to go along with the ones you've already received from every other teacher in this building, I suggest that you keep your thoughts to yourself, and your mouth closed." They could hear the Slytherins snickering at them. She whirled around.

"I will not tolerate that kind of behavior in my classroom," she said sharply. They at once quieted. "In this room, you will all cooperate with each other because in the future, you just might not have the choice whether to work together or not. You might as well start now. Let me lay down the rules for you," she said walking to the front of the room. Once she got to the front, she turned on her heel. She pointed quickly to the board behind her and looked at the students in front of her. The room was totally silent. Her icy blue eyes make contact with everyone in the room, sending a chill through the air. "There will be no putdowns, trash talk, backtalk, gossip, or note passing in this classroom." she said. The words appeared on the board behind her in neat white letters. "If I find any of this being done, believe me, there will be consequences," she said. Lucius smirked and mouthed a 'yeah right.' She raised an eyebrow at him. "I see we have a non believer in here," she said. He looked up at her and smirked around him at his friends before looking back at her and smiling broadly.

"You can't do anything to me," he said with sureness in his voice.

"Oh no," they heard Remus whisper. "Aw shit." They looked quickly at him and saw that his head had fallen into his hands before they all looked wide eyed back up at her.

"As a matter of fact," he said standing up and placing his fingers on his desk as a way of being intimidating.

"Then comes the arm crossing over the stomach and the narrowed eyes," Remus whispered not looking up. All of a sudden, her expression turned icy and her lips formed a thin line, then she stiffly crossed her arms over her stomach and narrowed her eyes at him.

"My father-" he started.

"Here it comes. Brace yourself," Remus warned hurriedly.

"I'd be very careful of what you are about to say Mr. Malfoy," she said smoothly. He smirked.

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted," he said.

"Oh shit," Remus said exasperatedly as his head whipped up, his eyes wide. "This isn't going to end well," he said worriedly.

"My father is –"

"A ministry worker that kisses the ass of his boss and happens to be a self-centered drunk that is sleeping around with every new secretary he gets. I'll have you know that he's had seventeen rape charges filed against him and is in debt up to his bloody eyeballs because he keeps getting sued for sexual harassment and the fact that he can't control his manly urges. Furthermore, I'll have you know Mr. Malfoy that my husband is going to acquire your father jobs within the next two days because your father is such a prick that he tried to rape someone I know extremely well, and that is why he can't have children anymore." She smiled sweetly at him. "Yes Mr. Malfoy, I know exactly who your father is. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a class to teach, so if you wouldn't mind sitting back down," she said icily. He fell into the chair behind him. She inclined her head slightly. "Thank you." Malfoy was pure white and extremely shaken. The room was dead silent. He looked at her, a slight fire left in his eyes.

"You'll pay for publicly humiliating me," he said. "When my father hears about this, it'll be your head." She smiled sweetly at him.

"Well then, I can't wait to tell how much of a lovely student you've been. I look forward to meeting with him, because as we all know, he has _so_ much influence here at Hogwarts. Now if you'll kindly quiet yourself Mr. Malfoy, I would greatly appreciate getting on with our class today." She looked around at the student s and smiled cheerily. "Now that we've gone over the classroom rules, I believe that we left off with everyone splitting up? Count off by fives now and meet up with your groups. You'll be practicing simple spells today." Everyone counted off and moved to a part of the room with their groups. Remus and James were in the same group, and Lily and Nikki were in the same group as well. Remus leaned over to James.

"What did you say to Nikki?" he shrugged.

"I just told her not to worry about it," he replied. Remus looked incredulously at him. "What?"

"You couldn't have said, he's still going out with you, they're just humoring his mother?" James held up his hands defensively.

"Calm down mate. You tell her then." Remus sighed and let his head drop into his hands. He looked over and saw Lily talking to Nikki. He watched as Nikki held up a hand to what Lily was saying, replied with a couple word answer, then tied her hair back. Lily looked over at them and gave them the 'uh-oh' look. Remus swore under his breath.

"Great. What next?" he said.

"Ok class. Now, today we're going to practice some simple spells on each other alright?" The two looked at their group and gulped. They were the only Gryffindors. They looked over at Lily and Nikki and saw that they were in the same predicament, except, their group was mostly guys.

"Aw shit," James said under his breath. The Slytherins snickered.

"Now, let's try it ok? And remember class, don't get too carried away, or there will be consequences. Now, who ever is being put under the spell, try to counter it ok? Resistance is key in defense against the dark arts, so remember, concentrate, keep your wits about you, and fight as hard as you can. I'll be walking around, monitoring you all, so try to control yourselves. Go ahead." James and Remus got out their wands and all of a sudden, the Slytherins started to cheer. They turned to where Lily and Nikki were and saw them trying to win a losing battle with their partners. All of a sudden, they stood up.

"Alright! They lost," they heard the Slytherins cheer behind them. James whirled around.

"Shut it," he said in a menacing voice before turning back. Both were shaking, trying hard not to comply. All the Gryffindors in the room shouted encouragements. The Slytherins shouted at them, trying to deflect their concentration. All of a sudden, Nikki and Lily stopped shaking. The bent over slightly, trying to catch their breaths. Then they stood and pointed their wands at them. The color drained from their partner's faces and the room went silent. They both smiled mischievously. All of a sudden, all three Slytherins started to jump around, yelping in pain.

"Hot, hot," one yelled.

"Turn off the heat!"

"What did you do to us?"

"Hot, it's hot."

"Cut it out."

"Who's the best in the whole world?" Lily asked with a smile. Nikki giggled.

"You two are," one said. "Now turn it down will yah?"

"One moment. Who's the best house in the whole school?" Lily asked.

"Gryffindor," one said softly. Lily cupped her ear and leaned toward them.

"Sorry, I didn't quite hear you," she replied with a smile.

"Gryffindor! Now for God's sakes, turn it off!" he yelled. The Gryffindors cheered loudly. Both brought their wands down and high-fived each other. The Slytherins sat down and touched their feet tentatively, making sure that they weren't hot. The teacher came over wearing a smile.

"Let this be a lesson to you all, don't get caught off guard," she said proudly. "Ten points to Gryffindor for the outstanding work done by these two ladies." The Gryffindors cheered again.

Lily and Nikki were walking down the hall when Lily felt an arm wrap around her shoulders. She looked sideways and got a whiff of sage before James kissed her on her cheek.

"Lovely show there Lily," he said. Lily laughed. She looked over and found Remus walking next to Nikki. She just hugged her books closer to her chest. Remus bent over and whispered something into her ear and she watched a smile spread across her face before turning her head away from him. Remus laughed and slid his arm around her waist. Lily smiled up at James and they continued on to the common room. They went over by the fire and sat down. Nikki pulled out a book and began to read. Lily moaned.

"Going into the realm of seclusion again Nikki?" she asked. Nikki didn't look up.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for your wedding soon-to-be Mrs. Lupin?" she asked. Lily's mouth dropped. James and Remus laughed. Lily glared at them.

"Then I guess you'd be cheating on me wouldn't you be Remus?" she asked. He smiled at her.

"Unfortunately Lils that would be correct. I'm so sorry, will you ever forgive me?" he asked. Lily smiled mischievously, then pretended to pout.

"I will never forgive you. I hearby declare this marriage arrangement terminated,' she said. All four laughed. Remus leaned over to Nikki and kissed her. He pulled back slightly.

"Good," he said. Nikki laughed and pushed him away, but he didn't budge. She stood and stretched.

"Remus, don't watch her," Lily said indignantly. He looked over at her and smiled.

"Why not? She's my girlfriend," he replied.

"It's like watching her undress," she replied.

"Is it now? How do you know I haven't seen it already?" Lily's mouth dropped. She looked form Nikki to Remus, dumbstruck. Nikki giggled and pushed Remus away from her.

"What? Nikki's doing a strip dance?" they heard Sirius exclaim as he walked over to them.

"Not in your lifetime," Remus said.

"Oh so now you're being protective," Lily said. He looked at her.

"I never wasn't," he said. "You just pointed out something that was taken way out of context."

"What happened here? I must have missed something big huh?" Sirius asked. Nikki shook her head.

"Nothing Sirius."

"Oh, I see, the second I walk in, all the juicy stuff stops. I'm very capable of handling myself," he said.

"Not when it comes to women," James retorted.

"Sure I am," he replied.

"Ok then, could you handle yourself if Lily and Nikki were wearing skimpy clothing and dancing very naughtily?" James asked with a smile. Sirius looked at them both, then his gaze went slightly dreamily.

"With me? No, with you two, Yes, I could handle myself." Both girls scoffed.

"Like we would ever dance with you," Lily said.

"I'm not that bad," he said.

"No, you're just the fool that ran around the room screaming that Frank was going to kill you with an axe. He had a bloody pillow for Merlin's sake," Nikki said.

"For your information, it looked like an axe because you had an illusion charm on it!" he replied standing up.

"Now Sirius, calm yourself down," Remus said softly touching his arm.

"No, you're just afraid I'm going to do something to your precious girlfriend." Nikki laughed.

"Like you could do anything to me," she replied. He started to advance on her. Suddenly, he felt something near his groin. He stopped abruptly and the color drained form his face. He looked down and saw the tip of her wand pointed at the particular area. He looked down at her. She smiled icily. "And you were going to do what?" she asked softly.

"I had a few ideas running around."

"You still want to have children?" she asked cocking her head to the side.

"Actually, it's more or less the fact that no girl wants me without something very important… something that happens to be in the direct line of fire," he replied. He could tell that the answer had caught her off guard and smiled. "Bet you didn't expect that did you?"

"You're a prick," she sneered.

"Nikki, calm down," Remus said.

"She's got her damn wand pointed at the family jewels. Want to help me here?" he yelled over his shoulder.

"You shouldn't have advanced on her moron," James replied.

"I know that now, just help me ok?" They heard someone get up and Remus appeared. He went behind Nikki and wrapped his arms around her waist. He nuzzled her neck and she smiled. Sirius took a tentative step back. Remus slid his hand down her arm and wrapped his fingers around her thin hand, making the wand fall to the floor, he turned her around and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him back. Sirius sighed with relief.

"Want to let me try that sometime?" he asked. They both glared at him and Nikki bent down to pick up her wand. He held up his hands defensively. "I'll take that as a no then," he replied, then slinked back to the couch. Lily smiled at him.

"How about you try a long term relationship sometime," she suggested. He sighed.

"I can't control myself. Besides, there isn't a girl in this school that I like enough," he said. He crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. "All the good ones are taken," he mumbled. James and Lily laughed. "I don't think it's very funny," he whined. Lily shook her head.

"Sirius… actually, never mind," she said standing up. She turned and pecked James on the cheek before starting towards the stairs. Nikki joined her momentarily. They went up and Remus dropped into a nearby chair, a dreamy look on his face.

"What's up with you Mooney?" Sirius asked.

"I think he's in Nikki land," James said. Remus shook his head and looked at them.

"What?" he asked. Both boys laughed and his face went slightly red.

"So, what did Nikki say to you?" James asked.

"What makes you think that she said anything to me?" he said indignantly. Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, so you recede into your special place just by thinking about her?" he asked.

"I wasn't in my special place," he said. "I don't even have a special place."

"Then why did you have that dreamy look on your face?" James asked laughed.

"I was thinking," he said carefully.

"Oh, I see. He was thinking," Sirius said to James with a broad smile.

"Oh come on guys, it's not like you've never been there," he reasoned. They thought about it for a moment before agreeing.

"I guess so… so really, what did she say to you?" Sirius asked.

"She didn't say anything to me!"

"So we're going to play that game are we?" Sirius asked wiggling his eyebrows.

"She really didn't say anything… she more like… actually, never mind because you're going to take this way out of context," he said.

"Oh, is that what she did," Sirius said eagerly. James smiled at him.

"You know Mooney, I think we'll take it way out of context either way," he said. Remus sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and letting his head fall into his hands.

"She just, you know when they do that… they just touch the spot that sends all your senses out of whack and all you can think about is… what you're going to do to them," he said.

"Ahh, the spot," Sirius said.

"Yes, we know about that," James replied.

"So, what exactly were you thinking of doing?" Sirius asked.

"Like I'm going to tell you," he said with a smirk. "Like I'd tell either of you."

"Smart move Mooney," they heard Frank say was he dropped into a nearby chair.

"Do you even know what we're talking about?" James asked.

"Not a clue," he said.

"Remus here has just confided in us that Nikki… has hit his spot," Sirius said dramatically.

"Ahh, the spot. Well mate, what were you thinking of doing to her?" he asked.

"You guys are sick. I'm not going to tell you what I thought about doing to her! That's like a… violation of everything," he said. They frowned at him.

"I wouldn't go that far. Besides, if you can get a rise out of it, why can't we?" Sirius asked.

"Because she's my girlfriend," he said indignantly. Sirius laughed.

"Come on mate, like you've never dreamed about doing this kind of stuff to other girls. I admit, I've dreamed about Lily, and Alice… and Nikki."

"Yes, but you can dream about other girls, I can't." They all laughed.

"Sure you can Mooney," James said. "All you have to do is keep your mouth shut, and when you wake up, remind yourself of what you want to do to Nikki," he said with a smile.

"Yeah, it works all the time. She never has to know. Besides, I'm sure she'd understand. I mean, you're a male for God's sakes. I'm sure that some part of her expects it anyways."

"I mean really, can you honestly tell us that you've never dreamt about other girls Mooney. I mean, truthfully?" James asked. He looked down at his lap and shook his head slightly. "I thought as much. You're only human Mooney. Don't worry about it."

"And besides, would you rather tell us, or leave it up to us to imagine what you're thinking about?" Sirius piped in.

"Neither. I need to get some fresh air," he said standing up. All of a sudden, Lily and Nikki came down the stairs. They looked at Frank.

"Where's Alice?" Lily asked. He looked around him, then shrugged.

"I don't know, the library maybe?" he said.

"You lost your girlfriend?" Sirius asked.

"I didn't lose her. I know exactly where she is."

"She where is she then?" Lily asked crossing her arms over her chest. He grinned at her.

"She's wherever she is at the moment," he replied. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Figures. Men," she mumbled to herself. She turned around and started toward the painting, Nikki was already waiting for her. They walked through and started down the hall.

"Where do you think she is?" Nikki asked.

"The library hopefully." All of a sudden, someone caught Lily's arm. She turned to look over her shoulder and caught the scent of sage. She turned to face James with a smile. He drew her up to him, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Where are you going?" he asked huskily.

"To find Alice," she said placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Do you need to find her right now?" he asked with a put. She laughed.

"Why? What did you exactly have in mind?" she asked playfully.

"Well," he said looking up pretending to be in thought. He looked back down at her with a wicked grin. "I did have some… plans in mind. Some… private plans," he said. She giggled. Lily heard Nikki sigh behind her.

"Oh how sweet. If you don't mind Lily, I'll continue on with the search and rescue mission," she said sarcastically.

"I don't mind. Have fun," she said. She heard Nikki softly walking away. She smiled up a James. "So… about those plans of yours," she said. He bent and kissed her, his hands running up and down her back. Hi tongue explored her mouth expertly. She pulled back and smiled up at him.

"Want to go to the astronomy tower?" he asked with a smile. She raised an eyebrow.

"Planning on a little stargazing?"

"Something like that," he said. They started toward the tower. James closed the door behind them and watched as Lily walked to the window, looking up into the night sky. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned back into him as he gently kissed her neck. She laughed lightly and turned in his arms. She brushed her lips against his playfully, and then pulled back. He bent toward her, but she turned her face away from him, a smile playing on her lips. He pushed her up against the wall and held her there with his body. He brought his hands up to cup her face, keeping it in place. She smiled up at him as he slowly lowered his head to hers. His lips found hers and they kissed, softly at first before he deepened it, his tongue running over her lips, but she wouldn't open up to him. He made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat and tried again. He heard her soft laugh as she finally let him in. His hands fell from her cheeks and began to run the length of her torso. All of a sudden they heard someone gasp. He turned around and froze. Lily had peeked out form behind him, and the color drained form her face.

"JAMES POTTER! What do you think you're doing?! NIKKI?! How could you cheat on my son?!" she said, her face going slightly red.

"I-I can explain," James started, but she held up her hand.

"Come with me you two," she said. They slumped over to her and followed her to the common room. Sirius, Frank and Alice looked over with smiles, but then the color drained from their faces.

"Uh oh," Sirius whispered.

"Where is my son?" she asked them.

"Uh… he went to the library to study for his potions test tomorrow," Frank said. Lily and James perked up at the mention of the library.

"Are you sure he went to the library? I mean, doesn't he usually go down to the kitchens around this time?" Lily said quickly. Sirius looked at her weirdly.

"Are you kidding me? He never goes to the kitchens," he said. The professor turned and raised an eyebrow at Lily.

"Thank you Mr. Longbottom," she said. She started towards the door. "Follow me you two," she said. They trudged after them. They made their way down to the library. She walked along the sections, looking into each one. Lily and James had their fingers crossed until they saw her peer deeper into a section. They prayed that Remus was just looking at books, not snogging Nikki. They started in to the section. "Remus darling, we need to talk," she started before freezing. The color drained from heir faces as they saw Remus whip around to face his mother, Nikki standing off to the side, her hair and robes slightly tussled. Both their faces showed horror.

"Mom," he breathed out.

"Well I never," she sputtered. "Lily?! What are you doing with my son? Remus, how could you cheat on Nikki?!" She turned to face James and Lily and then looked back at Nikki and Remus, shaking her head. All four looked at each other. She pointed to Nikki. "You. You had something to do with this." Nikki shook her head blankly. "Lily Evans. You don't deserve James or my son. You put a love potion into their drinks. You wanted Remus for yourself didn't you? You and Nikki conspired this." Nikki shook her head, her breathing getting considerably harder. Remus tried to say smoothing but she held up her hand to silence him. She turned to look at James. "I want you two to leave for a moment. I wish to talk to my son and his _real_ girlfriend and set the record straight. Nikki walked quickly past her and followed James out of the section. She watched them leave. Lily turned to look at them and saw James put his arm around Nikki's shoulder as she had put her hand up to her mouth, whispering something in her ear. She looked back at Remus. "Come here Nikki," she said. Lily walked forward and went to stand beside Remus. "Now then you two, I want you to kiss. Right now," she said. They looked at each other.

"Mom," he said. "There's something you need to know," he said. She held up her hand.

"Remus, I don't want to hear any of it. Kiss, then I'll listen to you," she said. They looked back at each other and gulped. They turned to face each other and just stood looking at each other. The professor sighed impatiently and took his hands, placing him on her waist. She took Lily's hands and placed them around his neck, then she pushed them together. Their lips met and they pulled back quickly. "A real kiss. Goodness, I find each of you snogging someone else and you can't even kiss each other," she said. "No I want to see it," she said, her hands on her hips. They looked back at each other.

"Neither James or Nikki finds out about this," Lily hissed.

"I'm not going to tell," he replied. They looked back at each other one last time before slowly kissing each other. Lily felt their lips meet and heard the professor step aside, making an impatient sound. Lily leaned into him slightly and kissed him. All of a sudden, they heard something drop on the floor. They broke apart, her arms still around his neck, and his hands still at her hips. At the beginning of the section stood a wide eyed and open mouthed James and Nikki. They froze there. Lily and Remus quickly broke away from each other and Lily turned away from them, her hands in her hair. Remus took a step toward Nikki, but she shook her head and turned, running out of the library. Remus sighed and stopped. James still stood there.

"Mooney?" he asked. He looked over at Lily. "Lily?" she turned to him, tear streaks glinting in the light.

"It wasn't him James. It wasn't me. I swear to you, she made us kiss. We tried to tell her. It was nothing, it meant nothing. Please, you have to believe me." Lily walked up to him and buried her face in his chest. He wrapped his arms blankly around her.

"James mate, I swear, I would never do this to you. We tried to tell her, but she wouldn't listen unless… and then you guys walked in and…" he stopped thinking about Nikki. James looked down at Lily in his arms. He looked at the professor who looked confused.

"Nikki?" she asked laying her hand gently on her back. Lily turned and shook her head. The professor took a step back, staring at the spot where Nikki had been standing. "Remus… who was that?" she asked. He sighed.

"That mom was my girlfriend Nikki Summers," he said. She brought a trembling hand up to cover her mouth.

"Oh my… and you're Lily," she said looking at Lily. She nodded her head slowly. "What have I done," she said. She looked at Lily and Remus. "I'm so sorry," she said. Remus put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it mom," he said. They started out of the library and stopped in front of the common room painting.

"Should I… go talk to her?" she asked. Remus shook his head.

"No, I'll do it," he replied. She nodded her head.

"Tomorrow," she said before walking away. They went in to the common room only to have Sirius, and Frank walk up to them.

"What happened mate?" Frank asked.

"Yeah Nikki ran in here with this weird look on her face," Sirius said. They looked at Lily.

"Lils? You ok?" Frank asked. Lily wiped her cheeks and nodded.

"Where's Alice?" she asked thickly.

"She's trying to talk to Nikki, but Nikki won't say anything to her," she said. Lily went over to the stairs and started up them. James and Remus sighed.

"I'm in for a long night," Remus said as they headed over to the chairs.

"Care to fill us in?" Frank asked. They relayed the whole story.

"Oh man," Sirius exclaimed.

"Tell me about it," Remus replied running his hand through his hair. "What am I going to do?"

"She'll understand won't she?" Frank asked. "I mean, she knew what was going on with your mom, I don't see how she could have thought that this was of your own free will," he finished.

"Let's hope," he said.


End file.
